Texas Solar Tower Go Ahead?

What we love about the project are the video and music, but that’s about it.

Last year we reported about an Australian company promoting the design of a solar downdraft wind tower and expressed our skepticism regarding the energy efficiency of the project:

[deepresource] – Solar Downdraft Wind Tower Planned in Arizona

To our amazement, Environmission reported that Texas agreed to invest 1 million $ in the undertaking.

[enviromission.com.au] – Texas Solar Tower Development Agreement US$ Banked

Furthermore, India seems to be interested as well:

[cleantechnica.com] – EnviroMission Reports Progress On The First Solar Chimney In India

[wiki2.org] – Solar updraft tower

India Ready to Pay Iranian Oil in Euro

New Delhi, March 23: India is likely to grant Iran’s request to be paid fully in euros for oil, against the current practice of partial payment in rupees… Reports quoting Mohsen Qamsari, director for international affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company, said, “Indians are interested in increasing oil imports from Iran and we welcome this matter in the event that it would be possible for us to receive payments in euros in our accounts.”

[telegraphindia.com]

Wind-Coal Break-even in India

[source]
The cost of wind power has dropped below the price of coal-fired energy in parts of India (like Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh) for the first time as improved turbine technology and rising fossil-fuel prices boost its competitiveness, Greenko Group Plc said. The current cost to build wind farms in India is about $1.25 million a megawatt.

[renewableenergyworld.com]

India opens world’s largest solar park

The newly-developed solar power park will be a 500-megawatt system using state-of-the-art thin film photovoltaic technology and should be fully completed by the end of 2014. It now has an operational capacity of 214 MW and has already become the largest such single location in the world, spread over 3,000 acres (12 km2) of mainly wasteland.

[RussiaToday]