# Solar updraft tower Buronga - 3000 foot tall unit proposed for Australia

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-updraft-tower-buronga-3000-foot-tall-unit-proposed-for-australia/371404>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 4, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-updraft-tower-buronga-3000-foot-tall-unit-proposed-for-australia/371404 "2006-09-04T15:26:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-updraft-tower-buronga-3000-foot-tall-unit-proposed-for-australia/371404/1 "2006-09-04T15:26:42Z")

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[Solar updraft tower](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_updraft_tower)  
[Solar Tower Buronga](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EnviroMission#Solar_Tower_Buronga)  
[Enviromission](http://www.enviromission.com.au/project/prototype.htm)

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**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-updraft-tower-buronga-3000-foot-tall-unit-proposed-for-australia/371404/2 "2006-09-04T15:36:42Z")

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Interesting idea, that. The funding is going to be a bit tricky, but totally non-polluting and very little upkeep. I especially like the idea that the surrounding area can be farmed to help offset the initial investment, although it would make for some very pricy tomatoes.

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**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-updraft-tower-buronga-3000-foot-tall-unit-proposed-for-australia/371404/3 "2006-09-04T17:11:09Z")

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How about I make one 1/50,000[sup]th[/sup] the size, and power my home with it?

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-updraft-tower-buronga-3000-foot-tall-unit-proposed-for-australia/371404/4 "2006-09-04T20:46:05Z")

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IIRC, this kind of thing has been talked about for years, yet nothing’s ever come of it.

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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-updraft-tower-buronga-3000-foot-tall-unit-proposed-for-australia/371404/5 "2006-09-04T20:53:02Z")

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[QUOTE=Tuckerfan]  
IIRC, this kind of thing has been talked about for years, yet nothing’s ever come of it.  
[/QUOTE]

It is not a project you start overnight. The R&D has been stepping up on the Solar Towers for years. Hopefully they actually start this one.

Jim

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**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-updraft-tower-buronga-3000-foot-tall-unit-proposed-for-australia/371404/6 "2006-09-05T05:29:01Z")

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IMO this is our equivalent of the flying car guy. He announces it every few years, someone throws money at him, he goes away till it runs out.

As I understand it, it would take more energy to build than it would ever generate, so we just have to hope no-one else starts taking it too seriously.