Solar Chimneys: Technology and Their Role for Transition to 100% Renewable Energy

The need for widespread use of renewable energy has created intense interest in developing various renewable energy technologies that can be used in different applications. Solar chimney is a system that can be used for cooling or heating the buildings, and power production. Moreover, in recent years solar chimneys were widely used for air cleaning, urban planning and sea water desalination. One of the reasons behind these various purposes is the simple working principle of solar chimneys. Due to its simplicity, it can play a key role in transitioning to 100% renewable energy. However, solar chimneys have weaknesses, and many of these issues need new approaches and innovative solutions. It is not a mature technology yet, either for power production or building energy efficient projects. Standardization, integration, hybridization, and finally developing the key components are the main subjects of solar chimney research and development. However, this unique system has great potential for harnessing solar energy in the near future in various applications.