Giant Solar-Powered Artificial Waterfall Could Power Rio's Olympic Village
Solar City Tower What goes up must come down RAFAAThe structure could help Rio de Janeiro achieve its goal to host the first-ever zero-carbon Olympics Several past Olympic hosts have promised greener events, but Rio de Janeiro could set a new standard with a solar-powered artificial waterfall building that operates day or night. The eye-catching Solar City Tower represents one of the standout entries in the International Architecture Competition for the Olympic Games 2016, according to TreeHugger. The tower uses many solar panels and a solar power plant to produce energy for the Olympic village by day. Any excess energy goes toward pumping seawater up into the tower for storage, so that it can be released by night as a spectacular waterfall. The falling water would also help turbines create electricity for the nighttime village. That neat energy storage scheme proposed by the Swiss firm RAFAA is similar to many that exist for...