Applications of Solar Chimney in Saudi Arabia

In countries like Saudi Arabia most of the energy demand is met by conventional energy resources, such as oil. The increase in energy demand has put stress on existing reserves of fossil fuel which are depleting at a faster rate. This has necessitated K.A.CARE to announce 41 GW electrical energy production plan by 2040, in which 25 GW will be from solar thermal. As a result of Saudi Arabia plan, there is a need to assess the applications of one potential solar thermal energy technology for Saudi Arabia which is solar chimney. Solar chimney is considered a promising type of solar thermal technology for power production which has not received enough attention. In this project, experimental and thermal analyses of solar chimney will be carried out. The project will consider typical solar radiation intensity variation for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It is proposed to assess the performance of the solar chimney under different design and operating conditions. As a result of that, the optimum design of the chimney and the size of the plant can be determined for the required power output.