{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.solar-updraft-tower","code":"thing-q13403028","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q13403028/","name":"solar updraft tower","alternateNames":["Vortex engine"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.BLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A proposed and occasionally built renewable power plant in which air heated under a large transparent collector rises through a tall central chimney, driving turbines at its base; the concept was demonstrated at Manzanares in Spain in the 1980s, needs very large collectors and towers to be economic, and remains mostly at the proposal and research stage, with the vortex engine as a related concept.","purpose":"Let an agent explain how a solar updraft tower works and what limits it, relay the record of demonstrations and proposals with attribution, and distinguish it from concentrated solar power, photovoltaics and cooling towers.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Chimney effect driven by solar heating","Very low efficiency compensated by scale","Simple technology, large structures","Mostly unbuilt proposals"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"principle","name":"Principle","description":"How it works.","layers":[{"id":"physics","name":"Physics","description":"Physics.","findings":[{"id":"physics-finding","name":"Physics","description":"Physics.","questions":[{"text":"How do the collector, chimney and turbines produce power from heated air?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the plant a solar updraft tower or another solar or thermal plant?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"components","name":"Components","description":"Components.","findings":[{"id":"components-finding","name":"Components","description":"Components.","questions":[{"text":"What are the main components, and how do their sizes scale?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the chimney effect?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"performance","name":"Performance","description":"Efficiency and economics.","layers":[{"id":"efficiency","name":"Efficiency","description":"Efficiency.","findings":[{"id":"efficiency-finding","name":"Efficiency","description":"Efficiency.","questions":[{"text":"What efficiency and output are achievable, and how do they depend on tower height and collector area?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which sources give the figures?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"economics","name":"Economics","description":"Costs.","findings":[{"id":"economics-finding","name":"Economics","description":"Economics.","questions":[{"text":"What do cost studies conclude, with attribution?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral about proposals?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"record","name":"Record","description":"Demonstrations and proposals.","layers":[{"id":"manzanares","name":"Manzanares","description":"The prototype.","findings":[{"id":"manzanares-finding","name":"Manzanares","description":"Manzanares.","questions":[{"text":"What did the Manzanares prototype demonstrate, and what happened to it?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"proposals","name":"Proposals","description":"Proposals.","findings":[{"id":"proposals-finding","name":"Proposals","description":"Proposals.","questions":[{"text":"Which large towers have been proposed, and what is their status, with attribution?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific project?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Comparison and research.","layers":[{"id":"comparison","name":"Comparison","description":"Comparison with other solar.","findings":[{"id":"comparison-finding","name":"Comparison","description":"Comparison.","questions":[{"text":"How does the concept compare with photovoltaics and concentrated solar power?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits solar power generally?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"research","name":"Research","description":"Research.","findings":[{"id":"research-finding","name":"Research","description":"Research.","questions":[{"text":"What research continues on the concept and the vortex engine?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the vortex engine?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain how a solar updraft tower works and its demonstrated results.","Relay efficiency, cost and land use figures from research sources.","Mark proposals as proposals rather than operating plants."],"mustNot":["Present proposals as built plants or overstate their output.","Promote investment in a specific project without evidence.","Understate the structural challenges of very tall chimneys.","Present the vortex engine as proven when it is experimental."],"requiresHuman":["Any investment, siting or construction decision."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Overstated energy claims can mislead investors and public funding.","Large collectors take land that may have other uses."],"affectedParties":["Investors and public funders","Communities near proposed sites","Researchers"]},"owners":{"steward":"The developer or operator of a specific plant; the concept is held in common.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q2298412","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"solar power plant","type":"related","note":"a solar thermal concept"},{"target":"chimney effect","type":"related","note":"the driving principle"},{"target":"concentrated solar power","type":"related","note":"a different solar thermal approach"},{"target":"wind turbine","type":"related","note":"turbines convert the airflow"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.solar-updraft-tower","Wikidata: Q13403028 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q13403028)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Manzanares prototype tower: about 195 m - height","Manzanares prototype output: about 50 kW - peak","conversion efficiency: under about 1-2 percent - of solar input, rising with tower height"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Tall chimney with a wide low collector","Turbines at the chimney base","Concentrated solar plants use mirrors; cooling towers dissipate heat","A very tall chimney rising from the centre of a wide circular glass or plastic canopy over open ground."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the principle and components","relay demonstrations and proposals","explain efficiency and economic limits","distinguish from other solar plants"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Structural challenges of very tall chimneys","Low efficiency and high capital cost","Land use of large collectors","Overstated claims in proposals"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Planning and structural rules for tall structures","Grid connection rules for generators","Aviation obstacle rules for tall towers"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Generating electricity from solar-heated rising air.","solar chimney power plants","the Manzanares prototype","proposed large towers in Australia, China and elsewhere","vortex engine concept","small research prototypes"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q13403028: solar updraft tower","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q13403028","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Solar updraft tower","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_updraft_tower","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should the Manzanares prototype be a separate entry?","How should research literature be linked?","How should proposal status be recorded with attribution?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q13403028/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q13403028/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T21:24:53Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:54+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}