Reduced environmental damages over the use of fossil fuels in conventional power stations.
An economically competetive power generation source. Projections are as low as 2.5 cents per kwh.
Immunity against fuel cost rise and fluctuations.
The land area needed is no more than twice the area for a conventional power station, but only one tenth of what is needed for all other solar technologies.
An abundant resource. Professor Zaslavsky claims there to be enough potential energy in northern Africa to meet the power supply needs for all of Europe. There are 40 areas worldwide that show favorable conditions for large scale energy production.
Inexpensive water desalinization. Estimated at half the cost of current desalinization plants.
The possibility to repair damages done by global warming. Professor Zaslavsky claims that the implementation of multiple "Energy Towers" may actually be able to reverse the mechanism of global warming by aiding the natural process by which the earth cools itself known as the Hadley Cell Circulation.
Disadvantages and Potential Problems:
Obviously, power generation by the "Energy Tower" is affected by the weather: it slows down each time the ambient humidity increases (such as during a rainstorm), or the temperature falls.
Substantial initial cost. Prices estimates range from 900 million to 1.2 billion dollars for the ideal 1200m by 400m tower.
There some adverse environmental effects from the desalinization of sea water including spray into the surrounding area, surface leakage, and the effects of returning the brine to the sea.
Some smaller environmental concerns involving the creation of cold and humid wind; visual pollution; noise; disturbance to air traffic; disturbance to free movement of animals; sucking nomad birds into the tower and shadow projection around the tower.
Sites that show the most favorable conditions are in isolated, desolate regions, requiring large scale transmission line implementation.
