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Arizona Desert to Get World's Second-Tallest Structure

Giant solar tower will start going up next year

By AstroDude, Newser User

Posted Jul 28, 2011 1:37 PM CDT | Promoted on Newser Jul 28, 2011 7:30 PM CDT

(User Submitted) – It's going to be a strange sight to be sure: America's tallest tower will be smack dab in the middle of the deserts of the Southwest, and for good reason. This skyscraper will not be an office building, but a massive solar energy complex, reports KNXV-TV. The tower, to be twice as tall as the Empire State Building and just short of the world's tallest building in Dubai, will generate power for more than 150,000 homes around La Paz County, Arizona.

With a price tag around $750 million, investment groups around the world are probing the sunniest spots on Earth to build mega structures like these in the hopes of big, long period pay offs in the not-so-distant future. This one comes from Australia's EnviroMission, which plans to break ground next year.

[Images (1)]

[Videos (1)]

A YouTube capture of what the tower is expected to look like. (YouTube)

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EnviroMission CEO Roger Davey speaks to Gizmag about the coming tower. (YouTube)

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scottaco

Aug 21, 2011 10:05 PM CDT

I was thinking $450mil for only 150k homes was a little steep. But seeing that it equals out to only 5k per home, in less than a few years, it'll be paid for and producing (and raking in) for decades to come. I would much rather see it going into American coffers though.

crafter67

Aug 3, 2011 1:57 AM CDT

Why is an Australian company building one of these in Arizona? I thought they had some pretty big deserts of their own to test this in?...there in the outback...

JoeQ

Jul 29, 2011 11:53 AM CDT

I hope they do something to mitigate any harm to birds. The tower will act like a giant vacuum cleaner, and Arizona is crawling with aggressive birds. They even invade malls and big box stores.

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Arizona Desert to Get World's Second-Tallest Structure

Giant solar tower will start going up next year

[Images (1)]

[Videos (1)]

Arizona • solar power • EnviroMission

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