Is the photo in the article relevant? Unless they have some new tech that isn't pictured in the article, it looks like all they're doing is installing solar panels facing multiple different angles with motorised mounts. Potentially increases efficiency a bit, but surely nothing groundbreaking?
I find the title disingenuous. "3D" solar tower? as opposed to a "2D" tower?
Seems largely based on the assumption that most people view PV installations as a strictly planar affair.
Does my neighbor who has solar on both slopes of his pitched roof have a geometrically novel "folded plate" configuration which increases capacity by employing the biomimetic strategy of diurnal heliotropism?
The article says they cost ~ $0.05/kwh. Does that include installation + foundation work? Presumably, they need to anchor these pretty well to withstand 110-170mph wind. I’d guess a lot less per-site engineering (and geological surveys/digging) is needed for 2d panels that sit a few feet off the ground.
Also, what’s state of the art $/kwh for rooftop and “on the ground” solar? Is $0.05 good these days?
They look a lot nicer than just an array elevated off the ground, and the split angle makes more consistent power through the day. Doesn't look like this is targeting the bare-minimum-budget market. Looks like something I'd expect to see around an airport as functional decoration.
Solar PV panels are as cheap as plywood at this point (sometimes cheaper, depends on your market as always). The cost is mostly soft costs (permitting, etc), labor, and the frame. Rooftop residential solar is still 3x-5x more expensive than ground mount, commercial is somewhere in between due to scale. Ground mount total cost is ~$1/watt, residential solar ~$3-5/watt.
Easiest wins are code to require large commercial and industrial buildings to meet load requirements for future solar installs, parking lot canopies that are solar ready (or solar installed at time of canopy install), and in the case of residential, ground mount with low regulatory overhead and minimal to no shading.
I stopped reading as soon as I got to the word "tracking". Solar panels are so cheap it's always better to overpanel than add tracking. Then I re-read a bit and this is about adding solar panels in space constrained areas. Why would you do that? I guess maybe if some company needs to virtue signal rather than actually use the power and has a small lawn. Solar is amazing, but don't try and jam it into places it doesn't make sense.
But … that’s not a solar tower. If I think of solar towers I’m typically imagining what Wikipedia calls a “solar power tower”[1] (lots of mirrors pointing at probably something with molten salt) or maybe a “solar updraft tower”[2] greenhouse with a tall ducted fan in the middle. This is solar panels on a gimbal? Which is cool and all, but not as cool as the first two.
Looking at the power output graph in the article, would there be a worthwhile efficiency gain to an undulating rooftop array? Instead of a single power peak at midday, perhaps a double peak in the morning and afternoon?
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[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 33.9 ms ] threadGoing vertical doesn't magically increase capacity. It increases capacity for fixed surface area and if the surrounding surface area isn't needed.
There is no free lunch, and traditional solar installations don't usually have a lot of light missing the panels.
Seems largely based on the assumption that most people view PV installations as a strictly planar affair.
Does my neighbor who has solar on both slopes of his pitched roof have a geometrically novel "folded plate" configuration which increases capacity by employing the biomimetic strategy of diurnal heliotropism?
Also, what’s state of the art $/kwh for rooftop and “on the ground” solar? Is $0.05 good these days?
Easiest wins are code to require large commercial and industrial buildings to meet load requirements for future solar installs, parking lot canopies that are solar ready (or solar installed at time of canopy install), and in the case of residential, ground mount with low regulatory overhead and minimal to no shading.
Related:
NREL: Solar Installed System Cost Analysis - https://www.nrel.gov/solar/market-research-analysis/solar-in...
Cheap DIY solar fence design - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45597198 - October 2025
Great comment from that thread on cost breakdown (Alaska): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45692595
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_tower
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_updraft_tower
Something like this, but not so pronounced: /\/\/\/\",