Tower Windmills and Electricity, Modest Efficiency

10/4/2015
TowerWindmillsandElectricity,ModestEfficiency
EconomicalLargeScaleWindGeneratedElectricity
ProvidingAMillionNew,FullTime,GoodPayingConstructionJobs
(Ahundredeachintenthousandlocalcommunities)
FirstPresentedinJune2007
The IDEA of tower windmills is an attractive one. IF they only cost 1/10 of what they actually cost
to build, and IF they ACTUALLY supplied more than 1/5 of the electricity they are promoted to
allegedly produce, and if they weren't so complex that they constantly broke down, they could be
great! They might then even be PRACTICAL regarding supplying electricity! But that REALITY is
not likely regarding tower windmills, providing future electricity. Maybe some day, but no time
soon.
By the way, people get all excited about solar electric panels, but that involves massive optimism! A
Network News story recently said that in order to produce as much electricity as a SINGLE
nuclear power plant, you would need 50,000 square miles of solar panels! That would be about
33,000,000 acres of solar panels, plus all the area around it to walk on! For comparison, that is
TEN TIMES THE TOTAL AREA of the State of Connecticut! And that would only be to replace
ONE nuclear power plant, and we currently operate 102 of them! That is about the entire State of
Alabama or Illinois, some pretty large States! You might calm down about thinking that the U.S.
has any realistic chance of getting substantial amounts of its electricity from solar panels. Part of
that is because the inexpensive Gallium Sulfide solar panels are only about 7% efficient.
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The very different CW (Community Wind) design described here only costs around 1/8 of
what a modern giant tower windmill costs. It even works on a somewhat different process, being
more of a Pressure device rather than a Momentum device. Its $1.8 million (US) cost is essentially
a combination of about a million dollars of wages for one hundred LOCAL workers and around
$800 thousand for needed LOCAL materials, mostly sand and aggregate for the enormous amounts
of concrete involved, so essentially the ENTIRE COST REMAINS IN THE LOCAL
COMMUNITY. This CW system also intercepts around six times as much wind and wind power as a
modern giant tower windmill does it is also more efficient than even modern high-tech tower
windmills are at capturing that power in the wind and it won't break down the way tower windmills
are now regularly demonstrating, as it can be built with only ONE moving part instead of 800!
Re-phrasing this, Choice 1 is to spend $15 million to buy a 200-foot-diameter windmill on a 300foot-tall tower that can collect wind energy from about 31,000 square feet (3,000 m2) of
oncoming wind, but only when the winds happen to have certain speeds. Choice 2 is to spend 1/8 as
much, about $1.8 million dollars to LOCALLY BUILD a CW system which can collect wind energy
from about 200,000 square feet (18,000 m2) of oncoming wind, more than six times as great an
area, and essentially at any and all windspeeds. CW is built by LOCAL workers, meaning jobs,
and it is durable in the extreme. CW works fine in any windspeed, where tower windmills do not,
and so the CW's overall performance in creating electricity is far greater than tower windmills
have. Even the basic operation is quite different, where tower windmills allow a lot of wind to go
BETWEEN the rotating blades, while the CW system requires (nearly) all wind energy to be
subject to being captured.
The CW system is nearly silent, as compared to the throbbing sounds of tower windmill spinning
blades which many people find to be offensive.
The CW system is designed to be LOCAL. No giant corporation would operate a complex wind
farm hundreds of miles away from you, where you would have to pay such giant corporations for
electricity forever (as you do today!) Instead, the CW system is built within a few miles of YOUR
town, it is BUILT BY LOCAL WORKERS and it is OWNED BY YOUR TOWN or SMALL
BUSINESSES IN YOUR COMMUNITY. These two approaches at getting electricity from the
http://mbsoft.com/public/wind7.html
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power in the wind could not be much more different, as the windfarms keep those corporations in
control of important aspects of your life, while the CW system gives you enormous new
LOCAL independence!
The CW system can realistically COMPLETELY PAY FOR ITS OWN CONSTRUCTION IN
AROUND TWO YEARS of supplying electricity to a local community! After that first two
years, it is all gravy, essentially free electricity forever!
Nearly any rural town or community can hire around one hundred of its own residents as
construction workers to build some structures (primarily fairly simple but very large reinforced
concrete walls), which can then provide at least 1.2 megaWatts of electricity locally from wind
power (sufficient for about a thousand local houses or other buildings) the total cost involved is
low, only around $1.8 million (US) (preferably provided by local businesses or banks), nearly ALL of
which then stays in the local community! We happen to be VERY conservative people and we easily
could be telling you about the 3 megaWatts of electricity which you might commonly be receiving,
or even the 5 megaWatts or even 10 megaWatts which the system COULD produce (during stormy
winds). But we prefer to stay with the 1.2 megaWatt amount of electricity that about a thousand
American homes generally use in modern life. If and when you receive MORE electricity, we trust
that you will not complain!
In the US today, there are people who talk about Infrastructure as the way to create new jobs
but they never seem to actually do anything that helps. If ten thousand rural US towns or
communities each build this CW system, NOW, that WILL provide excellent employment and
wages for a million construction workers and collectively create at least 12,000 megaWatts or
12 gigaWatts of electricity, without most of the large losses of the electric Power Grid.
Depending on legal stuff regarding the land ownership and Zoning and some Engineering
choices, construction could begin within WEEKS, meaning A LOT OF GREAT JOBS NOW! This
total amount of National electricity production is comparable to the entire output of a dozen
Nuclear Power Plants, or around 3% of all the electricity produced and used in the United States,
a significant amount. Even greater amounts of electricity are easily accomplished if that is
desired, by just building duplicate installations.
NO government money would be required to do this, or even desired, and local businesses and
banks could greatly benefit from these many PROFITABLE LOCAL construction projects and
the future profits from selling electricity.
This system captures wind energy in a unique and extremely efficient way, to therefore produce
absolutely GREEN electricity. Actually, the CW system is somewhat of a brute-force approach to
capturing wind power! We BLOCK nearly half a mile wide of oncoming wind, for 100 vertical feet!
INSIDE EACH of the ten pairs of curved concrete walls, which act as air funnels, there is always
around 375,000 pounds of air, representing what is called Momentum, moving at substantial speed
toward the giant revolving-door-like rotor we put at the rear end of each air funnel, which blocks
that air! That total mass of about 3,750,000 pounds of air, all moving forward at more than 40
mph (when oncoming winds are at the AVERAGE 10 mph speed, the faster speed being due to our
tapering air-path shapes) leaves no alternative but for all that momentum to cause the rotor fins
to be pushed out of the way, that is, rotated, which we then capture to produce electricity. There
is actually rather little 'technology' here but a lot of 'brute force' due to the very large size of
the concrete structures. We only add Technology to REFINE everything to ensure maximum
possible performance! The fact that AVERAGE wind of about 10 mph can be collected in such
enormous quantities as nearly 2,000 tons of air moving at 40 mph, indicates the reasoning of why
CW works as impressively as it does.
Each such town can therefore become more independent in providing most of its own
electricity in great abundance, along with employing many of its own residents to build it and
using local materials and products to construct it. AND TO OWN IT!
By the way, nearly all modern product-related concepts seem to always be presented as either
advertising or promotion, where everything is described under absolutely perfect conditions, to
try to seem most impressive for anyone who might have money to put up! In the case of tower
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windmills, that means avoiding referring to windspeeds, or usually AVOIDING ever mentioning
ANY details of how their products might someday operate! So it rarely occurs that ANY actual
information is ever presented which might some day show them to have been misleading or
deceptive! And so the promotions always describe glorious amounts of production, such as
electricity generation, but which is realistically only likely to occur during one or two percent of
the time!
The deception seems to be everywhere! ONLY the OPTIMISTIC HOPES seem to ever get
expressed by anyone! Look in Wikipedia or anywhere else. The Wikipedia presentation on this
shows an enormous failure of Wikipedia. They do NOT allow a reader to know WHO WROTE any
article, or WHO LATER EDITED IT. In this case, it is very clear that extremely biased employees
of the American companies involved in tower windmills wrote the text in Wikipedia. There are NO
reference at all to the fact that China has built and is manufacturing far more tower windmills
than the US has and is making. The text also is essentially a COMMERCIAL for tower windmills, as
there are NO REFERENCE WHATEVER to any negative aspects, ever! The fact that US
governments have spent around $150 billion so that Texas could build about 10,000 tower windmills
is never mentioned. Private businesses are too smart to invest such enormous amounts of money
when the chance of ever paying it back or making a profit is very slim! The text is always very
distorted to suggest magical abilities of tower windmills. Whenever any numbers are ever cited,
BY ANYONE, they are (very optimistic!) capacity or potential figures, which can never even be
supplied or confirmed by anyone other than BY the equipment manufacturers! Virtually NO data
is ever cited regarding ACTUAL DELIVERED ELECTRICITY! An interesting example was in
Texas in the summer of 2010. Texas brags about having built around 10,000 tower wind
turbines, with a "total installed wind energy capacity" of 10,085 megaWatts (as of 12/31/2010).
An attractive number, even though it required roughly $150 billion of Federal (taxpayer) money to
build them. What is not stated is that during the hot days of late summer 2010, when millions of
people in Texas turned on their air conditioners, the ACTUAL SUPPLIED ELECTRICITY was only
570 megaWatts! NOT the advertised 10,085 megaWatts, but just ONE-TWENTIETH OF
THAT, at 570 ACTUAL megaWatts. Only FIVE PER CENT of what the total PEAK RATINGS
indicate! (TRY to find that data anywhere where the public could see it!)
If leaders were honest with the public about such things, fine, but that is not remotely the case.
The fact that all those promoters only refer to installed wind energy capacity, which simply is
the TOTAL of all the absolute maximum capacities that the 10,000 installed wind turbines COULD
produce in absolute maximum wind without self-destructing! There is NO CONNECTION WITH
REALITY! In fact, NO ONE even has any way to confirm the accuracy of such CAPACITY or
RATING numbers, as they only ever are provided BY THE MANUFACTURERS of the products!
So watch carefully when you see any speaker or article about any of this! You WILL regularly
see references to CAPACITY and POTENTIAL PERFORMANCE. You will find it darkly amusing
that they NEVER refer to any ACTUAL PERFORMANCE!
I also seem to have a unique perspective that I insist on regarding any alternative energy devices
for either me personally or for larger areas. I INSIST on knowing how long it would likely take to
amortize the construction cost. That is, FOR THE PURCHASES TO PAY FOR THEMSELVES, such
that actual savings might then be possible. For example, the Solar Power Tower that was built near
Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1978, has not yet remotely paid for its construction as of 2012. There
was enormous publicity about the Power Tower being THE solution for future electricity needs,
but the repairs and maintenance costs of the Solar Power Tower eat up essentially all the income
from selling electricity, so it is not even clear whether the Solar Power Tower has even BEGUN to
start paying off its own construction costs. The data we have from Texas for 2009 provides us
with a rough idea regarding this. You can do this same analysis regarding any alternative energy
devices you buy for your own home, or that you see politicians spending your taxpayer money on!
We need two numbers: (1) Total cost spent, which we will take as being $150 billion dollars for
those 10,000 tower windmills now in Texas. (2) The amount of value of electricity that is provided.
We will see below that published data for Texas in 2009 says that 19,351 GigaWatt-hours of
electricity was provided by all of them during that entire year. In such large quantity, ten cents
per kiloWatt-hour would be tough to get, but we will be generous here and use that number. That
rate would mean that $1.935 billion worth of electricity would be created (per year). So if NO
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MAINTENANCE OR REPAIR would ever be required, then ($150 billion / 1.935 billion) about
seventy five years of operation would be needed, before the basic costs of installation were ever
paid for. When repairs and maintenance are included, this rises to at least 200 years before
amortization.
That is not necessarily a horrible thing! IF the equipment can be made reliable enough where
repairs and maintenance are moderate over many years, then this DOES have potential! But it
means that investment NOW probably will not show real benefits regarding providing electricity
for at least a couple decades, and may be centuries! The troubling part is that no one has ever
done any long-term studies on how tower windmills do over several decades. So data regarding
maintenance and repair is still rather speculative. (If they charge a lot more for the electricity
made by tower windmills, which is quietly implied, then, yes, amortization can occur faster.)
In April 2012, the Japanese government told its people that the wholesale cost of electricity from
windfarms will likely rise to around 28 cents per KiloWatt-hour, where it was currently around 5
cents per KiloWatt-hour. This seems to be the first actually honest admission regarding FAR
higher electricity costs due to wind turbines. The public is allowed to think that wind being free
would mean that wind-generated electricity would also be nearly free. I suspect that few in the
public will be pleased to get electric bills which are six times more money than now, just
because a windfarm produced it. We think rather differently than that! Since a local town or
community would OWN the entire Community Wind system, and it is very efficient and rarely
would need any repairs, we do NOT see any reason that electric bills should be any greater than
they are today, and quite possibly would be less!
We can see another useful thing from the Texas published data discussed above. We see that
19,351 GigaWatt-hours of electricity was provided by all of the 10,000 tower windmills in Texas
during the year 2009. Since a year contains 8766 hours, we can see that all those 10,000 tower
windmills produced an average of 2.21 GigaWatts. Dividing by 10,000 we see that the average
windmill in that group of 10,000 that is being bragged about only produced an average of 0.221
MegaWatts, not remotely the impressive electricity production that the public and the politicians
were led to believe! We will see below that there is other solid evidence and calculations that
the average electricity production of giant tower windmills is in that same range of about 250
KiloWatts. The promoters know that no investor or politician would provide funds for $15 million
products with that minimal performance of about $12 of electricity per hour (average 250 kW
electricity production times 5 cent value per kW). I realize that no one but me seems to care
about amortization cost, but I feel it necessary to note it again here, that $12 per hour is about
$100,000 of electricity produced over an 8766 hour year, where the $15 million tower windmills
will take at least 150 years to even pay for their own construction costs. I only wonder how long it
will be before leaders realize the silliness of this sort of approach. So no one ever mentions any
actual numbers. Below, you will see WHY the average production of electricity is so poor, where
the wind turbines are commonly described as being RATED at 1.8 MegaWatts or more. To me, that
seems like outright deception.
You will see below the math which shows that the MOST ACTUAL DELIVERED ELECTRICITY
from tower windmills is generally only around 1/10 of the actual energy IN THE WIND or around
1/5 of what those RATED CAPACITY numbers suggest. Isn't that total deception? Shouldn't
SOMEONE admit to the ACTUAL performance of such devices? Wouldn't that be HONESTY to
the public?
Yes, wind power CAN provide some electricity for our societies. But does it have to be promoted in
such extremely deceptive ways?
For more than eight years, since around 2004, we have insisted on seeing ACTUAL DELIVERED
ELECTRICITY DATA. There have been a few rare examples where specific performance of a wind
farm on an especially windy day has been cited. But what is REALLY important is the ANNUAL
ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION of ANY windfarm especially as compared to the CAPACITY
numbers that are always promoted about that windfarm! And even when anyone grudgingly provides
ANY numbers, they are in forms where the public cannot easily understand their meaning. The
favorite distortion seems to be that glowing CAPACITY figures are cited in megaWatts (which is a
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unit of POWER), while any production figures are given in an entirely different unit, megaWattHOURS, which is a unit of energy. These are apples and oranges, which cannot be directly
compared! One must know that there are around 8,760 hours in a year. The yearly ENERGY figure
should therefore be DIVIDED BY 8,760 to convert it into average power production, which then
COULD actually be compared to RATED CAPACITY.
Here is an example of the deceptive and a non-deceptive way this data should be presented to the
public: PUBLISHED DATA for Texas in the year 2009: Existing installed capacity, 9,410
megaWatts Energy generated during 2009, 19,351 GigaWatt-hours. Can YOU compare
these apples and oranges? No, no one can. So they get away with never having anyone actually be
able to see the trick in their numbers.
The latter number must be divided by that 8760 hours in a year, to give 2.209 Gw of AVERAGE
POWER produced in Texas during 2009, which is also 2,209 megaWatts. RATED CAPACITY was
9,410 megaWatts, but AVERAGE PRODUCED electricity was 2,209 megaWatts. That is
around 20% of the advertised capacity (2209 / 9410). Not so impressive when presented in a
more honest way! Equally unimpressive is that that total amount of electricity, provided by
10,000 tower windmills, and at the cost of around $150 billion dollars, is only about equal to
TWO nuclear power plants! GOOD, but nothing to write home about! Go out to watch some of the
Texas windmills working! You will generally see a lot of them just sitting there stopped, or even
pointing the wrong direction, because something in those windmills had broken and awaits being
repaired, or that the windspeed is too fast and would endanger the structure of the spinning rotor
or too slow to have enough power in it to be worth operating them. News reports indicate that
tower windmills each contain around 800 moving parts, so those 10,000 windmills already in Texas
must have around 8,000,000 moving parts which are wearing out and breaking. Get a job as a
repairman for tower windmills if you can stand working 200 feet or more above the ground!
The pay for such repairmen must be great, and a LOT OF THEM HAVE TO BE HIRED!
As the data from Texas in 2009 shows above, tower windmills generally only produce around 1/5 of
their supposedly rated capacity of electricity! No one ever tells the taxpayers about that little
detail! Our presentation here uses a more scientific approach of first considering the actual power
IN THE WIND, of which the high-tech wind turbines can capture a theoretical maximum of 43%,
a little less than half. OF THAT AMOUNT, only about 1/5 actually gets converted into electricity.
So based on the energy IN THE WIND, we say this represents about 10% or 1/10 of the available
energy in the wind. If instead a description is based on the lesser PEAK RATING (of that 43%)
then they SHOULD say that their devices actually convert around 20% of that or around 10% of
the actual power in the wind. These actually say the same thing but the promoters tend to confuse
the public, apparently intentionally! Of course, even with their more attractive way of describing
their systems' performance, they still only demonstrated around 5% of their RATING
performance in the summer of 2010! Much of their low performance numbers involves something
called the Capacity Factor, which is mostly due to their having to STOP the turbines whenever the
windspeed rises where the rotors could spin too fast and self-destruct, and they also STOP the
turbines when the wind is slow because there is little energy to capture (discussed below).
Depending on the specific climate, the Capacity Factor tends to be around 34%, although in
England, a Court Record referred to 22%. The FACT is that the 10,000 windfarm turbines in
Texas (in 2009) only actually PRODUCED AN AVERAGE of about 1/5 of what the public is led to
believe (2209 mW / 9410 mW), and the very negative example of summer 2010 where only 1/20 of
the advertised capacity was ACTUALLY provided when people really needed the electricity, sure
seems to show rather severe deception to me!
For the record, roughly the same fractions are true for tower windmills everywhere else in the
US. For the year 2009, the entire country had 35,466 mW of total RATED CAPACITY of tower
windmills (roughly 40,000 of them), and they produced a total of 70,760 GW-h of electricity in
the entire year. We again have to divide by 8760 hours to get an AVERAGE PRODUCED
ELECTRICITY of 8,077 mW. And doing the fraction, that is, 8077 mW / 35466 mW, we see that
the country's 40,000 tower windmills had about 23% overall performance (of their RATED AND
PROMOTED CAPACITY) during 2009. (And that is of the 43% of wind energy that those high-tech
turbines could actually capture from actual wind power, or an actual overall capture rate of around
10% of the energy in the wind.
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For having spent so many billions of dollars, one might think that we taxpayers deserve a better
overall performance than that! Which is the point of the CW system described here, where around
40% OR MORE of the energy and power in the wind IS collected and converted into electricity.
Duhhh!
It apparently seems necessary to note here that we are not SELLING any devices at all! This is
NOT promotion to try to get people to throw money at us! In fact, the only FEE that we have is
due AFTER the entire system is up and operating and making money by providing and selling
electricity. Even more, we are trying to ENCOURAGE each town and community to TAKE CHARGE
FOR THEMSELVES and for them to try to reduce their dependence on giant Corporations, which
rarely actually care much about them, except regarding their money.
Our presentations, including this one, try to have a more practical and realistic approach. We
even provide NUMBERS for anyone to check, and mathematical formulae to do it! It is nearly
impossible to be misled here! We present numbers that are NORMALLY TO BE EXPECTED and
are sometimes even somewhat conservative in statements and claims! This actually results in our
systems sometimes providing performance which is at far greater electricity production than we
normally describe in the text and math below, which we see as a nice bonus. In any case, there can
be real difficulties in trying to compare such realistic information here with other approaches
which only present absolute maximum capabilities and optimistic hopes of their salespeople! I
guess it is nice to know that my Corvettes are CAPABLE of going 170 mph, although there is no
practical need for that in MY life. Our presentations tend to see more value and therefore create
more focus on subjects akin to what the gas mileage is of the Corvettes at highway speeds (around
26 mpg) and whether it can pass a truck (NO problem there!)
An impressive example of all this was demonstrated during April 2010, regarding a multi-billiondollar windfarm project that a company has promoted for more than nine years. Since about 2001,
the promoters have been trying to receive several billion dollars for building around 130 large
tower windmills in the Cape Cod seas off Massachusetts, over the next ten years that they figure
it would take to build them. No one seems to have access to any actual reliable information
whatever, except for what the promoter tells them! Unfortunately, all that selling is
astoundingly optimistic, at best! The US government and President Obama recently gave
permission to build that project, which had been denied for many years due to aesthetic views and
noise issues. No one was ever even aware of any PERFORMANCE issues! For years, I tried to speak
up but no one seemed to want to hear! The CLAIM is that the 130 windmills will supply 400
megaWatts of electricity for the residents of Cape Cod, after around 2020 when the project
would be completed. (And the villagers rejoice!) (Sorry!) Down below is a discussion about that
Cape Cod project which I first calculated around 2005. It does not address attractiveness issues
at all! It simply notes KNOWN LAWS OF SCIENCE! Such as the FACT that wind at around 10
mph contains roughly 5 Watts of kinetic energy (power) per square foot, and that tower windmills
are made tall to access faster winds of (nearly) double that speed at 300 feet (100 m) altitude.
We will show below that double the windspeed means winds containing EIGHT TIMES as much wind
power in it (formulas are below). So it is a SCIENTIFIC FACT that each square foot of wind up
near the top of a large tower windmill can contain around 45 Watts/square foot IN AVERAGE
WINDS. Let's do some simple calculation! A popular 200-foot-diameter windmill intercepts an area
of wind equal to Pi R-squared, right? That is around 31,000 square feet of area, right? And since
AVERAGE winds contain 45 Watts per square foot, multiply to find that there is about 1.4 million
Watts of total kinetic energy power (technically called Energy Flux) IN THE WIND that can get
intercepted. This is NOT the amount of electricity produced, only the amount of natural power
which exists IN the wind. There will be 130 identical windmills, so multiply again to find that the
TOTAL POWER in the AVERAGE wind (for 130 tower windmills) is about 180 mW. NOT 400 mW!
How can anyone believe that their project would or could regularly PRODUCE 400 mW of
electricity when the WINDS they will intercept will only contain 180 mW of power in them? There
is a Conservation of Energy (which is also called the First Law of Thermodynamics) which
says that energy does not magically appear just because you want it to! (How do they get
around this fact? They decided to do a calculation on THE FASTEST WINDS THAT THEIR
TOWERS ARE DESIGNED TO SURVIVE [which only happens rarely during storm winds] and they
were then able to get numbers that supposedly support the claim of 400 megaWatts. Yes, it is
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technically true to keep them from being sued over the statement, but it is incredibly misleading
and deceptive to people who do not know that they are being tricky with their numbers! The people
of Cape Cod would NEED it to be nearly permanently stormy for that claim to be remotely
possible!)
Actually, the tower windmill design has a pretty good efficiency, but it cannot exceed a
theoretical maximum of 43%. So the actual best that their entire project could CAPTURE (of that
AVAILABLE 180 mW) as mechanical energy (in average winds) is only 43% of the 180 mW or
around 78 mW. Converting that to electricity has some more losses and it turns out that around 65
mW of actual electricity is the MAXIMUM that could be created in AVERAGE winds. Worse still,
the design of such tower windmills is such that they cannot be operated when winds are strong,
due to the chance of self-destruction, and they are not operated when winds are light, because
there is very little power then available. So there is a Capacity Factor of around 34% regarding
the time that their windmills can actually be operating! You may have noticed this if you have ever
driven past a wind farm. Generally only some of the rotors are spinning. This gets the ACTUAL
amount of electricity that MIGHT be produced in AVERAGE winds to be around 21 mW (or 34% of
65 mW). NOT the claimed 400 megaWatts but a reliable 21 megaWatts, only 1/20 as much
electricity!
It is certainly a POSITIVE action to begin getting 21 megaWatts of electricity from wind, so we
have no complaint there, except that the COST of billions for that project makes it rather foolish
to do for such a moderate benefit.
But in nine years, absolutely no one has ever questioned the promoters' claims of some day
supplying 400 mW! They have gotten away with claiming TWENTY TIMES AS MUCH
ELECTRICITY, apparently because THAT is the kind of news that people want to hear! REALITY
seems to not matter! In any case, we taxpayers are now going to pay billions of dollars for that
Cape Cod wind farm project, and in ten years, everyone will grieve that it is just not producing as
we expected it would! In a different scenario, that could be funny!
Whether it is because there are no Engineers who are smart enough to do that math that YOU did
up above, or whether it is just because everyone has pinned so many future hopes on tower
windmills, that is an industry that is built on very attractive fiction! This presentation is meant to
provide the actual science which applies and the math which can be used to predict such
performance, and it also describes a rather different wind-power-to-electricity system which is
far simpler, far cheaper, and far more reliable.
In many areas in the US, the average windspeed near the ground is around 10 mph (5 m/s).
The power (technically called Energy Flux) in one square foot area of such wind is nearly exactly 5 watts. 23 Our
Small-Scale Wind web-page presentations includes the math to show that it is actually 5.064 Watt per square
foot.
Consider an arrangement where about 20 acres of land is used up to build some pairs of accurately curved
concrete walls. (For reference, 20 acres is roughly the same as about four city blocks). Say the walls are 100
feet (30 m) tall and they would be arranged so that they were wide open in the direction of prevailing
winds, a space 200 feet (60 m) wide. The pairs of concrete walls would gradually funnel all that air (through a
shape called an Exponential Horn for minimum turbulence and loss), and then force that wind to then drive a
(common, ~$10K) 120 kW alternator to produce electricity. Ten identical arrangements like this would be
adjacent, COMPLETELY BLOCKING nearly a half-mile (2,000 feet or 600 meters) wide area of the wind. That
would then have a total frontal area of wind impinging of around 200,000 square feet (or around 18,000 m2),
which therefore contains an enormous amount of wind power in it.
In fact, wind 100 feet (30 m) high up generally moves at around 80% faster (18 mph), which results in MANY
MORE TIMES (5.8x) as much energy in the wind that we experience at ground level. We choose to assume a
conservative average of 16 mph for our design, which would then have over four million Watts of power in the
wind. (The 18 mph would provide SIX million Watts of wind power! And winds during a storm, at 30 mph, would
contain nearly 30 million Watts of power in them!) .
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Notice one huge difference with tower windmills! The air can go right through, BETWEEN the rotor blades, of a
tower windmill! They are really well designed, but even then they cannot achieve an overall efficiency of greater
than 43%. The COMMUNITY WIND approach of ours is ENTIRELY different! ALL the air that encounters our
system HAS NO CHOICE! It HAS TO get funneled and then push its way through our vertical turbine to drive
our alternators! This difference alone enables our approach to be able to produce much more electricity than
tower windmills can produce. AT THEIR BEST, tower windmills can BE COMPETITIVE WITH OUR APPROACH!
The theoretical maximum efficiency of a wind turbine occurs when the wind is slowed down to 2/3 its initial
speed, which would give around 59.3% efficiency. Our systems should be able to approach that efficiency! But we
choose to design for and expect a much more conservative lower-efficiency of around 35%. This approach also
permits much less expensive construction. It is then reasonable to capture around 1,400 kiloWatts of usable
mechanical power from the 4,000 kiloWatts of existing Energy Flux in that average wind. (35% of 4,000)
This power then has to go through a mechanism and an alternator to be converted into electricity, so there are
some additional losses, but at least 1.2 megaWatts of relatively continuous and reliable electricity should
easily be produced by this system. This is enough electricity to entirely supply many hundreds of modern
homes, and if restraint was used, then more than a thousand homes.
You might have noticed that if we were not so conservative, we might have claimed even 20 mph average wind at
100 feet height, meaning eight million Watts of power in the wind and then claimed the highest efficiency we
might normally achieve, 59.3% of that, or around 4.7 MegaWatts of mechanical power and a realistic 4.3
MegaWatts of electricity supplied! But we are happy telling you about the 1.2 MegaWatts that we are SURE you
will regularly receive! If there are days when you receive 4.3 MegaWatts of electricity instead, oh, well!
For Accountants: The wind does not always blow, and it sometimes blows from directions different from the
Prevailing winds. On the other hand, our sturdy concrete walls can withstand ANY windspeed in a storm, and our
system can capture impressive amounts of electricity power at those times. So maybe a conservative prediction is
to get the full 1.2 MegaWatts of electricity only 1/2 of the time. Then, over a period of a year, 1200 kW * 8766
hours * 0.50 or 5,250,000 kWh of electricity (or 5.25 GigaWatt-Hours) would be produced and provided. THIS
IS ELECTRICITY WHICH CAN BE SOLD! CURRENT electricity often sells for around 15 cents per kWh (which
includes significant amounts of Delivery costs and assorted taxes), and even without any future price increases,
that amount of annually produced and supplied electricity could easily be sold for $790,000 every year!
With less conservative predictions (seen below), this might easily be around $2 million worth of electricity
produced and supplied every year! You are encouraged to look up the TOTAL consumption of electricity by your
town per year. I think you will be smiling!
This supplying of 1.2 MegaWatts of electricity to the local community is from AVERAGE winds. This is in
tremendous contrast to very expensive, complex and difficult-to-build tower windmills which are usually rated at
PEAK OUTPUT ratings of around 1.8 MegaWatts but which they can actually produce only while being on the verge
of being shut down to keep it from self-destructing! The tower windmills actually can generally only consistently
provide 1/10 of that (0.16 MegaWatts) in AVERAGE winds (as calculated below).
This design is compatible with conventional reinforced concrete construction and some relatively conventional
welding, both of which would employ many local workers. No exotic new labor skills would need to be taught to the
workers, but some of the workers would need to be comfortable building rather tall walls!
MORE THAN A HUNDRED LOCAL JOBS WOULD BE CREATED TO BUILD THESE SYSTEMS!
The entire construction cost of the whole system can be around $1.8 million! You certainly noticed above that
you will have around $800,000 worth of electricity to sell every year, so only a little more than two years of
operation will put you in the black, forever!
The concept is simple and amazingly inexpensive, and it would easily be possible to allocate 20-acre parcels near
thousands of small towns, to provide a nearby and reliable supply of electricity that DID NOT USE UP ANY
FOSSIL FUELS!
If only 10,000 US towns decided to each do this, collectively, this might provide more than a MILLION JOBS
(a hundred in each town), while providing something that can greatly reduce Global Warming and also
ensuring our electricity supplies! (The United States has around 10,000 towns larger than 4,000 population).
Since the construction methods are very commonly known, it is realistic that roughly three months of
construction time should be sufficient to get an entire system built, operating and producing electricity. This is in
contrast to the five to ten years until electricity of the (very expensive) tower windmills.
It even turns out that the US Government initiated a Program in 1992 called the Production Tax Credit (PTC)
which is now 2.0 cents credit for every kiloWatt-hour produced for the first ten years of operation. Even if this
system was used such that all the electricity was given away for free, this PTC credit can be as much as
$210,000 for each of the ten years. In other words, the Government PTC credit could ENTIRELY pay for the
entire $1.8 million construction cost of the whole facility (over the first ten years of operation)! (But we realize
that it would be unheard of for American businesses to GIVE AWAY free electricity! Still, it is an interesting
thought!)
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There are actually many other government programs that benefit businesses and Utilities which build and use
such wind-energy systems.
One of the best things about this is that LOCAL businesses and residents will own the entire Community
Wind system, unlike most Wind Farms of tower windmills where FOREIGN INVESTORS own most
everything! (No one seems to ever be told that fact!)
Yes, the wind sometimes stops, and a connection to the Power Grid, OR a local gasoline-driven electricity
generator/alternator (roughly $16,000 * 10) or storage batteries or some other provision for backup electricity
is necessary!
The public is significantly deceived about how wonderful that Utility-supplied alternative energy will be. The fact
that giant Corporations are so focused on being involved in solar or wind or algae or geothermal sources of
electricity should tell you something, that they expect to make billions of dollars of profits from such efforts!
The News Reports and advertising and promotion always make it sound like they are investing in such research
because they are so wonderful regarding caring about customers, but the reality is that they really just want to
try to maintain the monopoly that they currently have regarding supplying electricity and heating fuels and
gasoline, so their billions of annual profits can continue. As long as few people can and will make their own supplies,
their future profits are secure. But a recent (4/25/2012) news report out of Japan provides useful information
for us consumers. Remember that you currently probably pay about 8 cents to 10 cents per kiloWatt-hour for
your electricity, plus a significant amount for "delivery costs" and a variety of taxes to get your actual cost up to
around 15 cents per kWh. And that the wholesale cost of the electricity is even cheaper between providers and
Utility companies, commonly in the range of 5 cents per kWh. So the new News Report from Japan should get
your attention! They mention that the Japanese government now expects the (wholesale) cost of electricity to be
as follows, which figures to happen very soon in Japan due to all their nuclear power plants now being closed down
after the tsunami of 2011: Electricity from solar will be 52 cents per kWh electricity from wind (tower turbines)
will be 28 cents per kWh and electricity from geothermal (due to Japan being in an earthquake zone in the Ring
of FIre) will be 34 cents per kWh. Add in the delivery charges and the taxes and we can see this represents a
ten-fold increase in the cost of electricity!
These web-pages are intended to enable each person to be able to provide their own electricity and other
Utilities, whether from solar or wind or decomposing organic materials or from other sources, where the cost
then drops to ZERO cents per kWh. We see solid logic in this, as long as the initial cost is not too high and there
is not massive labor involved in using such devices to produce electricity or heat or pure water or refrigeration or
air conditioning or other important utilities.
ThisconceptwasinventedandEngineeredbyJune2007.Itwasbasedonearlier(1972and1975)researchandexperimentationwithsmallscalewindpowerinventions.Thispresentationwasfirst
placedontheInternetaroundJune2007.
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Thesegraphicsshowtherotorexposedsoitisvisible,whichisnottrueinactualoperation,becauseitisentirelyenclosed.Therearesome
detailswhicharenotincludedhereeither,suchasthecurvedairguidesaroundthespinningrotor,orthedrivesystemandalternators.Thefact
thattherotorsareentirelysurroundedisbothforthesafetyofanyonenearbyandalsoforextremequietnessofoperation.Thesegraphicsare
intendedtoshowthegeneralconceptofthesystem.Thesizeofthissystemissignificant,ascanberealizedbythethreespecksnearthe
incomingairarrowintheuppergraphicwhichrepresentadulthumans!Rememberthatthisisonlyoneofthetenidentical,adjacentassembliesof
thefullsystemdiscussedhere,whichalsoclarifieshowmorethanfourmillionwattsofwindpowercanbegatheredfromsuchalargeareaof
wind!Youcanseehowthelargeamountofaircollectedfromtherightisallfunneledintocausingatleastonefinontherotortoreceivetorqueto
thenrotatetherotorandanalternator.Thesecondgraphicshowsanapproximatespeedofthespinningoftherotorinnormaluse.
Thedrivesystemforthealternatorhasgreatflexibility,sincewedesignedthesystemwhereeachrotoronlygeneratesaroundaconstant190
horsepowerofmechanicalenergy(inaveragewinds),suchthatawiderangeofgeardrives,chaindrives,orevenautomotivetransmissiondrives
couldbeusedtotransferthepowertothealternator.Coilsofwirecouldevenbemountedaroundtheperimeteroftherotorbase,foranentirely
electromagneticsystemwithonlyasinglemovingpart,therotoritself.
ItisusefultopointoutthattowerwindmillsvirtuallyalwayscitePEAKPOWERwhentheydescribetheirperformance,thegreatesttheirsystem
couldeverproduce,wherewefeelitfarmorerealistictociteAVERAGEPOWER,whatcanbeexpectedinnormalwindconditions.Wewillsee
belowthatthesetwoaregenerallyquitedifferent!
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Eachofthetencomponentsofthissystemcanprovideareliable120kWinaveragewinds,consistentelectricityforover
onehundredhouses,andsotheentiresystemoftenassembliescanthereforesupplyatleast1,200kWor1.2
MWforoveronethousandshouses,adecentsizedcommunity.(Itobviouslycouldbescaledupordownforlarger
orsmallercommunities.)Acommonresponseseemstobethataroofoverthetopofitcouldenableittotrapevenmore
windpower,whichistruebutasnotedjustbelow,thebenefitisfairlyminimal(forthelargescalesystemswepresent
here.AroofWOULDbeimportantforverysmallscaleversions).Atownisfreetoaddaroof,buttheairpressure
differentialspresentarelowenoughthatwebelievethecostofsucharoofwouldnotbeworththeaddedperformance.
Wewouldleantowardsimplybuildinganeleventhassemblyifgreateroutputisdesired!
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Therotorhasfinsthatareeachprettylarge(100feettallby50feetwideor5000squarefeet).NATURALairpressureis
14.7poundsPERSQUAREINCH(oraround2120poundspersquarefoot).Thatmeansthatover10millionpoundsof
totalNATURALairpressureisforeveractingonthefrontsideofeachfin.TheREARsideofthefinhastheexactsame
naturalairpressureactingonit,solikeeverythingelse,thereisnoNETforceactingonthefinduetonaturalair
pressure.
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OurExponentialHornairfunnelcausesaSLIGHTincreaseinairpressure,whichisactuallynotevennoticeable!Our
designchoicecausesanincreaseofaround1/1400thinthatairpressure,whichincreasesthenatural10,000,000
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poundsactingonthefrontofthefinuptoaround10,007,000poundsinstead.ThisresultsinanIMBALANCEinthe
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forcesonthefrontandbackofthatfin,andthereisaCONSTANTNETforceonthefinofaround7,000pounds,
whichisthewholepoint.Theincreaseinnaturalairpressureof1/1400onthefrontofthefinsimplymeansthata
weatherbarometerneartherearoftheExponentialHornwouldshowaNATURALairpressuretherewhichis1/1400higher.Insteadofa
commonbarometricpressureof30.00",itmightread30.02".Noonewouldevennoticethedifference!Thewindspeedinsidetherearofthe
ExponentialHornissomewhathigherthannormal,duetothefunnelingactionoftheExponentialHornshape.
Continuing,wenowhaveanetforceofaround7,000poundsactingonthefaceofthefin,whichactstorotatetherotoraxleshaft,duetoa
TORQUEwhichiscreated.Thattorqueisthe7,000poundsactingatan"average"distancefromtheaxle,whichisaround33feet.Thisresultsin
atorqueof(7000*33)around230,000footpounds,atremendousamount,whichEASILYstartsandrotatesthehugerotorandproducesallof
ourelectricity!
Below,wewillseethatRankine'sactualformulasforthisstuffgiveavalueofaround11,500poundswherewearedescribing7,000poundshere.
Similarly,thisnumberiscalculatedadifferentway.Iftherotorwasbrakedtonotpermitanymotion,thenthepressurethatexistsiscalledthe
StagnationPressureorDynamicPressure.Thisiseasilycalculatedasbeingthemassflowofairtimesitsinitialvelocity.Forwindthatbeginsat
10mph(15f/s),thisis(1/415slug/ft3*15ft/sec*1ft2area)*15ft/secwhichis0.542lb/ft2ofarea.Sinceoneassemblyhasafrontalareaof
20,000ft2,thismultiplesto10,840poundsofmaximumStagnationforce.SoiftherotorisNOTturning,andthenaturalaveragewindisat10
mph,therewouldberoughly11,000poundsforceactingonthefintorotatetherotor.Astherotorstartstospin,thecalculationsgetmuchmore
complicated,andinACTUALPRODUCTIONOFthedesignedamountofelectricity,thisforcedropstoaround7,000pounds.Themeasuredforce
actuallydependsonhowmuchloadisappliedtotherotortomakeelectricity.IfNOloadexists,duetonodesireforelectricity,therotorcanspin
muchfaster.Infact,therotorwillspinataspeedwheretheonlyremainingforceagainstthefinisthatneededtoovercomethefrictionofthe
bearings,whichisminimalwithourdesign.
Irealizethatthisisfarmoretechnicalthanmostpeoplewanttohavetolookat,butwewanttotrytoshowWHYourapproachworksso
amazinglywell!Prepareyourself,asthereismoremathahead!
YouhopefullyrealizethatthisCommunityWindsystemhasfullyandrigorouslybeenstudiedinEngineeringterms.InEngineering,therearenine
differenttypesofAnalyseswhichcanbedoneregardingperformance.AcoupleofthosemethodsdonotapplytotheCWsystem,butwedid
comprehensiveanalysisregardingFroudenumberconsiderations(regardingwindwaveaction)regardingWebernumberconsiderations
(regardingsurfacetensionaction)regardingReynoldsnumberconsiderations(regardingfluidviscosityaction)regardingStrouhalnumber
considerations(regardingvibrationfrictionaction)regardingEulernumberconsiderations(regardingvariouspressureactions).Airvelocitiesare
alwayslowsoMachnumberanalysisisnotnecessary.WefeltthattherewasnotsignificantelasticactivitysoCauchynumberanalysiswasnot
necessary,andcentrifugalmotionintheaironlyoccursintherotorsection,sothatanalysiswasonlydoneforthatsection.
Again,thisisjustourveryconservativeapproach.Thisfactoralonesuggeststhatmanytownscouldeasilyreceivearoundoneandahalftimesas
muchelectricityaswearedescribing!WeassumethatnoonewillcomplainwhentheygetMOREthantheyhadexpectedtoget!
Iftherotorturnsataround10rpm,(duringactualfullproductionofmaximumelectricity)oraround1radianpersecond,thenthetorquetimesthe
angularspeedis(230,000*1)or230,000ftlb/sec.Thisisthesameasaround420horsepower!Duetoassortedlosses,weconservatively
expecttoonlycapturearound190horsepoweroutofthissystem,whichisaround140kWofmechanicalpower.Sincewehavetenofthese
assemblies,weeasilyget1.2MWofreliableoutputelectricpower.
EvenifinsidetheExponentialHorn,nobirdsoranimalsorpeoplewouldhavetheireardrumsblowoutorlikelybeblownover!Infact,birdscould
safelyflyTHROUGHtheentiresystemwhileitwasoperating!ItmightbecomeawonderfulCityParkarea,especiallythe(ten)almostacreouter
sections!ItmightturnouttobeaGREATplacetoflykites!Thissystemissimplyusingthetremendousforcesthatexistduetonatural,
normalairpressure,bySLIGHTLYalteringitandthenbenefitingfromtheresult.Inaratherdifferentway,airplanesalter(decrease)the
naturalairpressurebyaround1/200thtocreate"lift"duetotheairfoilshapeofwingsandtheBernoulliEffect.Inbothcases,whatfirstappearsto
beaverysmalleffectcanbemadeintogreatbenefits.
YoumightnotethatsincetheairINSIDEtheExponentialHornisonlysuchatinyamountofpressurehigherthanoutside(above)it(around0.01
PSI),weseeextremelylittlevalueinbuildingaROOFoverthetopoftheExponentialHorn,althoughtownsarefreetobuildroofsiftheywish!In
myopinion,theamountofairlostupwardisinsignificant.
EngineerscanreadthisandrealizethatmanyDIFFERENTdesignparameterscouldbechosen,suchasafarnarrowerrearendtothe
ExponentialHorn.Yes,thatwouldreducethesizeandexpenseofbuildingtherotor,andmakeitspinfaster,butthatWOULDreducetheoverall
efficiencyofthesystemandlikelyalsothenrequirearoofovertheExponentialHorn,aswellasmakingtheinterioroftheHornpotentially
dangerousforbirds,animalsandpeople.IpreferTHISdesign,whichisextremelysafe,andwhichhasarotorwhichspinsslowenoughto
probablyoperateforatleast40yearsbeforeanythingmorethanminimalmaintenanceshouldeverbeneeded.
Somepeopleseemtothinkthisnextthoughtissomewhatflaky,butIreallyliketheideaofaskinglocalSchoolstoconsiderhavingstudentsdo
artworkonthebottomfewfeetoftheconcretewalls!Thereisatleast96,000squarefeetofareathatiseasilyreachablebyartisticchildren!And
thepointwouldbetoPERSONALIZEthesystemtothecommunity!Everykidinthecommunitycouldhaveasquarefootareaassigned,forthe
nexthundredyears!Individualsandfamilieswouldbeproudtopicnicnearartworkdonebyfamilymembers,anditcouldaddaFineArtsaspect
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toCommunitylife!
ThissystemisavariantonsomedevicesthatIhaddesignedandbuiltinthe1970sand1980s,whichwereverysmallscaledevicessothatthe
entirestructurecouldberotatedtofacethewind.Theywereallbasedonusingold55gallondrumstomakecrudeSavoniusRotors,which
normallycanonlyhavearound13%efficiency.ByaddinganExponentialHornandsomeotherimprovements,thosecheapandcrudeSavonius
Rotorshadamuchhigherefficiency,testedtobeinthe28%to32%range.Thismodernlargescalesystemhasevenmoreimprovementsinit,
andsoitsefficiencycanbefarhigherthanthe1980'sdevices.The1998webpagewherethatwasfirstpresentedontheInternetisatsmall
versionfrom30yearsago.
Today,peopleassumethatONLYtheFederalGovernmentcanthrowenoughmoneyatbigproblemstotrytoprovidesolutions.
Washingtonseemstoprintupandgiveoutbillionsofdollarsforvariousthingseveryday!Thisprojectisanexampletoshowanalternative!NO
governmentmoneyshouldbeneededatall,andthereisthennoneedtobedancingtoanyrequirementsthatpoliticiansattachtosuchfunds!
Ifsomelocallandownerwaswillingtogivearound20acresoflandforthisproject,andifahundredlocallaborers($1.0million)werehiredto
operateequipmentandassemble(plywood)concreteforms,moveandmix14,000cubicyardsofsand($0.2million),28,000cubicyardsof
coarseaggregate($0.2million)and7,000cubicyardsofPortlandCement($0.2million),mixedonsite,anddotherebarsandothermaterials
andtheequipmentrental,thisentiresystemshouldbecompletelybuiltandoperationalforroughly$1.8milliondollars.Theconcretewallsarethe
primarycomponentsofthissystem,andtheyshouldbeabletobebuiltbythoseworkersinabouttwelveweeks.
Thelocalcostofthesand,aggregateandPortlandCementcanbedifferentfromthesenumbers,asthereareimmenserangesofpriceswhich
exist,primarilybecauseofthefreightexpensesofhaulingthosematerialsfromsourcelocationstotheproject.Iflocalsourcesexist,theprices
canbemuchlowerthanindicatedhere,whileifthematerialshavetobehauledlongdistances,theycanbehigher.
Itmightbenotedthatthe"millionjobs"wouldNOTrequirerelocationtosomedistantgiantfactory,butwouldinsteadpermitstayinginthehome
community,andalsoBENEFITTINGthatcommunityintheprocess!
Animprovedmethodofbuildingthereinforcedconcretewallshasbeendesigned.Imaginea15footlongslabsof3/8"platesteel,eachwitha
slightcurvature,andmaybe6feettall,bothcontrolledbyhydrauliccylindersagainstahorseshoeshapedsturdyframe.TheseFormswould
establishthespaceforconcretetobepoured.Oncetheconcretehadsetsufficiently,theFormsassemblycouldhavethehydrauliccylindersback
theFormsawayfromtheexistingwall(s).TheFormassemblycanthenbemoved14feetalongthewalltothenbeabletopourthenextportion
ofthewall,continuinguntiltheentire400footlengthofthewallispoured.ThatFormsassemblycouldbemovedaroundtoallowpouringall
twentywallsofthetenexponentialhornfunnels.ThedesignoftheFormsassemblyalsopermitshydraulicpowertoLIFTtheassemblymaybe
fiveverticalfeet,whereanadditionalfiveverticalfeetofwallcouldbeaddedabovethepreviouslypouredwalls.Thatprocesscouldberepeated
untilthewallsbecamethefull400feetlongand100feettall.TherearesomeimportantdetailsinvolvedintheFormsassembly,toenableitto
efficientlybeallowingpouringtheconcretewalls.
Thissystem,providingelectricitytobesoldandusedlocally,couldthereforebefullyoperationalwithinaboutthreemonths(inmany
locations).Thissystemhasverylittlethatcouldeverdeteriorateorfailformanyyearsofreliableoperation(itcanbebuiltwithonlyoneortwo
movingparts!)(Mediareportshavestatedthatthetowerwindmillshavearound800movingpartsinthem!).
Ifjusttheconservative1.2megaWattsofelectricityisproduced,around2/3ofthetime(whentheprevailingwindsblow),theelectricity
producedinEACHfollowingyearcouldthereforeBESOLD(ataconservative15centsperkWh,whichincludessignificantamountsof
Deliverycostsandassortedtaxes,andevenwithoutanyfuturepriceincreases,)FOR$1,050,000!Injustayearortwoyearsofoperation,the
entireconstructioncostandalltheemployeeswagescouldbecompletelypaidfor!ThisisimpressivelyquickamortizationorROI.Thisistrue
evenseparatefromthegovernment'sPTCtaxcredits!
Thedetailsofthisaredifferentforeachcommunity,asinsomeplacesPrevailingwindsareextremelyreliableandinotherplacestheyarenot.
ThesystemWILLworkinanycommunity,butthelikelyROIandelectricityproductionshouldbeconfirmedbyalocalEngineerusinglocalweather
data.
Therefore,itseemsextremelyobvioustomethatalocalBankoralocalbusinessmightseecausetogetthisdone!Itseemstobean
OBVIOUSprofitmakingbusiness,withguaranteedLOCALcustomers,andabsolutelyminimaloperatingoverheadcosts!
Infact,itmightmakesenseforonethousandhomeownerstoeachputup$2,000inaCoOperative($2.0milliontotal),wheretheywould
effectivelyprepaysomeoftheirelectricbills,andtherebyowntheentireproject!ByhavingPREPAIDtheirusualelectricbills(withthatinitial
$2,000),thehomeownersmightthenbeabletonearlyentirelystoppayingforelectricityatall,andthenforeverafterhaveessentially
freeelectricity!(Essentially,becausethereAREtimeswhenthewinddoesnotblow,orblowsfromthewrongdirection,whereconventional
electricitysupplieswouldbeneeded!)
Thesefiguresareallextremelyconservative.Theactualperformanceshouldnearlyalwaysgreatlyexceedthesenumbers.Wecouldhaveused
the18mphcommonAVERAGEwindspeedatheight,for5.8xinsteadof4.1x.Wecouldhaveusedashighas59.3%efficiencyinsteadof35%.
JusttheseLIKELYeffectsincreasetheaverageelectricaloutputfrom1.2MegaWattsupto2.9MegaWatts.WeCHOOSEtonottrytostretchthe
factsandprefertoKNOWthatthesystemWILLprovideaveryreliable1.2MegaWatts.Ifacommunityregularlyreceives2.9MegaWattsinstead,
weseenothingwrongwiththat!
Thisconfigurationisextremelyefficientregardingactuallyusingtheenergyinthewind.Youmightnotethatthelargeareaofoncomingwind
essentiallyrunsintoanobstacle,thiscollectivestructure,2,000feetwideand100feethigh.ThewindMUSTgetpasttheobstacleinsomeway,
toallowspaceforfollowingwindtoentertheregion!Intraditionalwindmills,muchoftheairgetspushedsidewaystothereforegoAROUNDthe
windmill.OtherwindpassesthroughBETWEENtheblades.Thisallresultsintheverylargehightechgiantwindmillshavingatheoretical
efficiencyofabout43%maximum.Smallermodernaerodynamicwindmillshavearound39%maximumefficiency,andtheoldstylenon
aerodynamicfarmwindmillshadarounda30%overallefficiency.THISapproachenablesmuchhigherefficienciestobepossible,potentiallyas
highasaround59.3%maximum.Evenmoresignificant,thegianttowerwindmillscanonlybesafelyoperatedinarelativelynarrow
rangeofwindspeeds(theyhaveverylowefficiencyatlowwindspeedsandthereisdangerofselfdestructionathighwindspeeds).
ThatcontributestotheirCapacityFactorgenerallyonlybeingaround34%.Thatis,theycanonlybeproductivelycreatingelectricityaround34%
ofthetime.Thecompaniesthatmanufacturesuchtowerwindmillsseemextremelyresistanttoeverdisclosinganyinformationregardingthe
actualperformanceoftheirproducts!InBritain,duetoarequirementtosupplythefigurestoOfgeminordertoclaimRenewablesObligation
subsidycertificates,suchinformationwasdisclosedforoneinstallation,andtheactualdatashowedaCapacityfactorofaround21.6%,whilethe
manufacturerarguesthatitwasactuallyaround26.8%!
THISsystemisabletocreateusableelectricityevenatratherlowwindspeeds(becausetheairisfunneledinandhasnowhereelsetogoexcept
topushthroughtherotorblade),anditdoesnothavedangerofselfdestructionathighwindspeedssincetherotorismuchsmallerthanfora
200footdiameterorlargertowerwindmill(centrifugalforcesaremuchsmallerathighspeeds)(andourdesignalsohasanXfactorof1.0and
notaroundthe6.0ofpropellertypetowerwindmills,whichmeansourequipmentonlymovesataround1/6thespeed,whichprovideswonderful
durability).ThisresultsintheexpectedCapacityFactorforourconceptbeingMUCHhigher,meaningevengreaterproductionofusable
electricity.
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ThispresentationhasusedVERYconservativenumbersinthecalculations.
Atownmayeasilyreceivemorethandoubletheamountofelectricity
describedinthesecalculations,buttheywillcertainlynotreceiveless!We
couldhaveusedthefarhigheroverallefficiencypercentage,andalsothefar
higherCapacityFactor,topresenttrulyimpressivenumbers,butwelikethe
ideaofatownbeingPLEASEDatgettingMOREbenefitthantheyhad
expected,ratherthanbeingdisappointedbyanyutilitiesthatperformmore
poorlythanhadbeenpresentedtothem.
Entiresetoftenoftheassemblies,onthe20acres
TraditionalElectricitySources
Forcomparison,regardingconventionalproductionofelectricity:Acoalfiredplantisgenerallyaround32%efficient,anaturalgasfiredplantis
around30%,anuclearfueledplantisaround29%,andpetroleumfueled(convertedjetaircraftengine)plantsaboutthesame.Butthoseplants
haveanadditionalcomplication.Sincetheyaregenerallybuiltmanymilesawayfromthecustomerstheyserve,thePowerGridhaslossessimilar
tothatofthetoasterwiresinyourkitchenappliance,wherethepowerlinewiresgetheatedupbythecurrentflowingthroughthemandthen
wasteheattotheatmosphere.Thereareotherlossesaswell,andtheresultisthatonlyaround40%oftheelectricitytheyputINTOthepower
gridatthedistantpowerplanteverarrivesatyourhouse,whichlowerstheoverallefficiencytoaround13%(32%*40%).Wehavebeen
describingthistopeopleformanyyears,thatonlyaround13%oftheenergyinthecoaloruraniumeveractuallygetstoourhouses,withthe
other87%beingwastedintheprocess,andithasbeenrefreshingthatIBMhasstartedairingsomeTVcommercialsin2009whichstatethe
samethingaboutthepowergrid!
SinceTHISsystemisintendedtobebuiltFAIRLYSMALLandwithinafewmilesofeachtown,thereareactuallyratherminimallossesduetothe
powergrid.
THIScommunitywindsystem(1)usesnaturalwindpower[whichisactuallyaversionofsolarenergy](2)itcapturesthatenergy
decentlyefficiently(3)itcreatestheelectricityrathernearthedestinationwheretheelectricityisneeded(4)itneedsnofuturefuel
forpowerand(5)therearefewmovingpartsthatcouldeverbreakdowninthefuture.MANYdifferentaspectsexistwhicheach
contributetowardverysubstantialelectricityproductionanddeliveryatminimalcosts.
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MediaPromotedGiantTowerWindmills
Somecommentsareappropriatehereregardingtheextremelymediapopulargianttowersandwindmills,whichourgovernmentis
spendingmanybillionsofdollarsinfinancingandsupportingwithtaxrelief.ThoseprojectsareNOTwhattheyfirstappear!Yes,theycan
createelectricity,andsomearealreadydoingthat.Butthemanufacturersofsuchsystems,andtheUtilitieswhichoperatethem,areincredibly
duplicitousregardingactuallygivingoutanyactualinformationabouttheperformanceofoperatingsystems!Therealityisthattheactual
productiveDELIVEREDelectricitycreatedisFARlessthantheirpromotionalmaterialsallbragabout.
PeakPowerRatingvs.AveragePowerRating
Youmaydriveacarwhichwasadvertisedashavinga495horsepowerengine,andthatmayhaveevenaffectedwhetheryoubought
thatspecificcar.ThatengineratingcanbecalledaPEAKPOWERRATING,beingthegreatestamountofpowerthatitiscapableof
producing.Whencreatingthatenormousamountofpower,itisrealistictoexpecttogetaroundoneortwoMPGgasmileage.Butfor
AVERAGEdrivingonanInterstateHighway,yourengineonlyproducesaround40horsepower,duringwhichyoumayget25miles
pergallongasmileage.ThisAVERAGEsituationisafarmoreaccuratedescriptionofwhatYOUCANACTUALLYEXPECT,suchas
regardinggasmileage.Bothsituationsaretrue,buttheyareextremelydifferent.Oneisasituationwhichsoundsveryimpressive,but
whichyouwilllikelyNEVERactuallyexperience,exceptpossiblyrarelyforasecondortwoatastoplight!Theotherisasituation
whichyoumayexperienceeverydayofdriving!IFyouwereonlygivenONEofthenumbers,whichwouldyouconsidermore
importanttoknow?
Wheneverelectricityratingsaregivenforwindturbines,theyseemtoalwaysbePEAKPOWERRATINGS,meaningthegreatest
amountofelectricitythatCOULDeverbecreated.ThatisentirelydifferentthanratingsforAVERAGEWINDCONDITIONS,which
wouldberealisticnumbersofamountsofelectricitythatmightNORMALLYbeexpectedtobeprovided.Thediscussionand
calculationsbelowwillindicatethatOFTENtherealisticallyexpectableamountsofelectricityisonlyaroundONETENTHthatofthe
PEAKPOWERRATINGS.Butnoonebotherstomentionthisimportantfact!Soadvertisingmakesclaimsofspectacularperformance
numbersforphotovoltaicsolarelectricpanels,andforsolarroofpanels,andforelectricvehicles,andforHybridvehicles,andfor
windmillelectricitygeneration,andforthegianttowerwindmills.TheyinvariablystatePEAKPOWERRATINGS,likethat495
horsepowerengineinthecar,numbersthatmaybetechnicallytruebutareextremelymisleading.
Thepublicispermittedtoassumethatfutureelectricitywouldbelessexpensivebecauseofthosewindmilltowers.ButALLreliable
sourcesagreethatextensiveuseoftowerwindmillswillcauseSIGNIFICANTINCREASESinthecostofelectricity!Thatisprimarilydue
totheratherexpensiveconstructionofeachwindtower($15millioneachisnotunusualtoday)andthenearlycontinuousmaintenanceandrepair
expenses(notdisclosedyetbutsomeexpertsthinkaroundamilliondollarseachyearislikely)ANDthefactthattheownersofsuchequipment
boughtitasINVESTMENTSinordertohaveguaranteedfutureprofits.Somenewsreportsin2008indicatedthatatowerwindmillgenerally
containsaround800movingparts!Imagineawindfarmof1200suchtowerwindmills,wherearoundaMILLIONMOVINGPARTSwouldcertainly
requireaLOTofmaintenance.Thatmaintenancewouldhavetobedoneatthetopof300foottalltowersandbyTechnicianswhohadvery
specializedknowledge.Wannaguessathowexpensiveeachrepairfigurestobe?
TheAmericanpublicisalsonotgenerallyinformedthattheactualOWNERS(investors)ofsuchwindfarmsareoftenNOTevenin
America!SotherelativelyunregulatedprofitswhichwillbecreatedinthefuturebysuchwindfarmswilloftenbesendingAmericanmoneyto
foreigncountriestopayforenergyweuse!Soundfamiliar?AsimilarsituationhashadusfinancingmostMideastcountriesandothersbasedon
thepetroleumwebuynow!
TheAmericanpublicisfedonlyveryselectivedetailsregardingthesingleadvantagethatwindfarmsproduce,amoderateamountofadditional
greenelectricity,withouteverbeingtoldoftheseassortmentofdisadvantages.Reportersneverseemtoknowenoughtoasktherightquestions!
Peoplewhohappentolivenearwindfarmswhichalreadyexistseemtouniversallycomplainaboutthepeculiarsoundwhichtherotatingblades
create.Peoplewhohadmovedouttoruralareastoescapethenoisesofcities,nowfindthemselveshearingaconstantthrobbingsoundofthe
sonicshockwavesoftherotatingblades.Mostexistingwindfarmsarestillfairlysmallandtheyarealsorarelyinfullproductiveoperationyet,but
once100or150suchgiantwindmillsareeachrotatingandgeneratingsuchsounds,itseemscertainthatmanynearbyresidentswillselltheir
housestomovetosomewherequieter.Thesoundswilleventuallybe24hourseveryday!Andasapersonmightwalkaroundinanearby
neighborhood,thefactthatallthewindmillsareTHESAMEDIAMETER,andthattheywillgenerallyrotateATTHESAMESPEED(bothhorribly
dumbdesignconsiderations!),therewillbeintenseRESONANCESinsomelocations.Someday,themanufacturersofsuchwindfarmswilllearn
thattheyMUSTmakedifferentwindmillswithDIFFERENTdiametersandotherdifferentparameterstominimizesuchresonancesbetween
differentwindmills,butfornowtheydonotseemtoknowthat!ThereisNOdoubtthattherewillbesomelocations,possiblyevenmilesawayfrom
thewindmillswhereahomeinanunfortunatelocationmayconstantlyandcontinuouslyshakeitselfapart!Orthewineglassesinthecupboards
willconstantlydancearound!ThisisvaguelyrelatedtothePhysicseffectofanoperasingersingingaCONSTANTFREQUENCYnotetocausea
(distant)wineglasstoshatteritself.Thesingerdoesnotsingloudenoughtoshattertheglass.ButtheCONSTANTFREQUENCYofthenote
permitsawineglasswhichhasaspecificresonantfrequencytoselfdestruct.
WatchthenewsincomingyearstoseeReportersgoingtopeople'shomesnearwindfarmstovideotapeglasswaredancingacrossadinnertable
andothersuchthingswhichwilldestroythereputationofwindenergy.ASINGLEwindmillCOULDhavesuchaneffect,ifthetargetobject
happenedtohaveasuitableresonantfrequency(whichwillNOTincludewineglassesbecausetheirresonantfrequenciesaretoohigh).Butthere
aremanyotherthingswhichwillbefoundtohaveresonantfrequenciesthatareaffectedbythefrequenciesproducedbygiantwindmills.
However,weareNOTtalkingaboutaSINGLEwindmill,andthefarmoreextremeeffectswillbeduetoRESONANCESBETWEENWINDMILLS
(sincetheyallproducethesamefrequency).IfsomethingcalledtheDampingFactorisminimal,theneventwo(identical)windmillscouldcreatea
verylocalizedresonancewhichcouldbehundredsoftimesasintenseaseitheronecouldcreatealone!InPhysics,thisiscalledDestructive
InterferenceofWaves.Andwithafieldof150suchwindmills,thesensationsforanyonelivingnearthemfigurestobeextremelystrangeand
probablyextremelyannoying.
Thisbringsupanadditionalimportantpoint.AmericaandEuropearerushingferociouslyintomassiveuseofgiantwindmillstoproducesignificant
amountsofelectricityWITHOUTHAVINGEVERDONEEVENBASICSCIENTIFICRESEARCHREGARDINGUNEXPECTEDSIDEEFFECTS.It
mayeasilybethathundredsofbillionsofdollarsisinvestedinbuildingmassivenumbersofsuchtowerwindmillsonlytofindinfiveyearsthatno
onewillbewillingorabletolivewithinfivemilesofthem!Thereisasimilarunresearchedareaofpossibleconsequenceswhichcouldbeeven
moredangerous.Thehumanbrainandnervoussystemoperatesonvariouslowfrequencyrates,sometimescalledalphawaves,betawaves,
deltawaves,etc.Itcanbereallyscrewedupwhenanexternalsourceofsomestimulioccursatarelatedfrequency.Youmightrecallthata
JapanesecartoongotinalotoftroubleafewyearsagowhentheyhadtheTVscreenflasharoundthreetimespersecond.TheySHOULDHAVE
KNOWNthatformorethanthirtyyears,researchershaveknownthatstrobeflashingofaroundthreetimespersecondcancauseverylarge
numbersofpeopletosuddenlyhaveepilepticfits.Mypointhereisthatwearerushingintosuchmassiveuseofthosegiantwindmillsthatnoone
everseemstohavedoneanyresearchregardingwhetherthefrequenciesproducedbythewindmillscauseanyadverseeffectsinthebehaviorof
nearbyresidentsorintheirphysicalhealth.Suchresearchseemscriticallyimportant,asitisaterribleideatohaveasituationwherenearby
residentsareguineapigsinsuchexperiments!
AsaPhysicist,Iamalsoconcernedaboutanotherpossibleresonance,thatofanextremelowfrequency.Itwaslearnedinthe1980sthat(much
smaller)windmillswereoftendestroyingthemselvesduetoresonantvibrations.Asawindmillbladepassedinfrontoforbehindthesupporting
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tower,thewindwasmomentarilyblockedandashockwaveoccurredinthatblade,andavibrationdevelopedwhichwasrepeatedeverytime
eachbladepassedbythetower.Atthetime,designershadapparentlynotstudiedmuchaboutresonances,andtheyoftenbuilttowersand/or
bladeswhichhappenedtohaveresonantfrequencieswhichmatchedwhatwasnaturallyoccurring.Itendedtoalwayswonderwheretheygot
theirDegrees,asthisissuebecamewellstudiedaround1940aftertheTacomaNarrowsBridgeselfdestructedinamoderatewind.Howcould
theynothaveknown?Suchwindmillsweredisasterswaitingtohappen,andquiteafewselfdestructedwithinweeksofstartingoperation.Well,
designerstoday(hopefully)knowtoavoidTHOSEresonances!Butthespinningofa200footor300footdiameterwindmillrotor,whichweighs
around15tons,certainlytransferssomeresonantenergyintothetower,alongwiththoseunavoidableproblemsofresonancesduetotheblades
passingthetower.ThisseemstomecertaintobetransferringextremelylowfrequencyvibrationsINTOTHEGROUNDbyeachofthetowers.
Now,with150suchvibratingtowerseachcausingthese(subaudible)vibrationsintheground,andthefactthattheInterferenceEffectsofsuch
waveswillcertainlycauselocalizedintenseshockwaves,itwouldbenicetoknowifsuchawindfarmcouldinitiateanearthquakeorlandslide,
wouldn'tit?RatherthansimplybeingblindandwaitingforadisastertohappenandTHENtryingtofigureoutwhyithappened?
Now,itwouldbenicetothinkthatourleaderswouldnotallowsomethingthatstupidtohappen,right?Butaround1970,theUSgovernmentwas
merrilyproceedingwithaprojectwheretheyintendedtosequentiallydetonateseveraldozennuclearweaponsunderground,inordertoblast
rocksoutforanewrailroadpaththroughthemountains.Therailroadshavealwayscomplainedthattheyhavetouseimmensepowertoget
everyentiremassivetrainUPonesideofmountainchains,onlytothenbeabletocoastdowntheotherside.Thefiguredthatblastingagroove
throughtheentiresetofmountainswouldsavetherailroadsalotofmoney!Whywasthissoinsane?Nooneseemedtobothertohavechecked
thattheywerealreadydrillingtheboreholesforthenuclearweaponsexactlyontheSanAndreasFaultlineinSouthernCalifornia!Noone
seemedtohaveacluethattheywouldnearlycertainlyhaveTRIGGEREDahorrificearthquakebytheir"brilliant"?ideaoftryingtomakea
cheaperrailroadpath!Sowemuststayvigilant.
Themanufacturersofsuchtowerwindmillequipmentseemtoknowthattheyaretheonlyoneswhoknowtheactualfacts!Thisalmostresembles
someusedcardealers!Theyknowthattheycanmakevirtuallyanyclaimstheywish,withoutanyconcernofbeingchallengedregarding
accuracyofanysuchstatements!
Thetowerwindmillmanufacturersseemtobeabsolutelyfreetoannounceabsolutelyanyspecificationstheywish,ormorecommonly,making
suretoAVOIDeverlettingthepublicknowanyspecificsatall!Itisunbelievable!Foreightyears,acompanyhasaggressivelytriedtoget
permissiontoinstallabout130towerwindturbinesoffthecoastofCapeCod.Theyhaveextremelyimpressivewebsites,buttheyareamazingin
neveractuallySAYINGanything!
TheCapeCodgrouphasonepagewhichistitled"Howmuchelectricitydoweuse",whichareadermightexpectwouldactuallyanswertheirown
question!Butitneverdoes.TheONLYbitofinformationtheyevenpresentinthatpageisthatwhatevertheusagenowhappenstobe,itwill
increaseby17%incomingyears!NOactualusagenumbersfromtheUtilitycompanies!Nonumbersregardinganything!
Theydothatforaselfishreason.Anotherpageoftheirpresentationannouncesthattheyexpecttobeabletoprovide3/4oftheelectricityfor
CapeCodby2020.Suchaclaimisaloteasiertomeetifnooneknowswhattheelectricityusageactuallyis!
TheyalsocarefullyavoidEVERsayingtheRatingoftheturbinesthattheywanttoinstall.ThisisevenMOREimportanttothem!Itturns
outthatthelongestablishedEngineeringformulasregardingsuchthings,andthelongknownpatternsofwindspeed,prettymuchestablishthat
a200footdiameterturbine,onasignificantheighttower,wouldgenerallybein(average)windsofaround21mph.Thatspeedwindis
easilyshownbyRankine'sformulastocontainaround45wattspersquarefootarea,or1.45megaWattsofpowerinthatentireareaof
therotor,INTHEUNDISTURBEDAVERAGEWIND.Themaximummechanicalefficiencyoftheirdesignofwindmillisaround43%,soweare
downto0.62megaWattsofMECHANICALpowerthatcanberealisticallycaptured.Afterconvertingthattoelectricity,itdropstojustunder
0.5megaWattsofelectricityproducedandsuppliedWHENthewindisblowingatthatAVERAGEspeed.
(The21mphwindspeedusedforthetopofatowerwindmillisbasedonanumberusedbycompaniesthatsellthosetowerwindmills!Wewilluse
ithere,butthenumbermightbealittleoptimisticontheirpart.Itisgenerallyacceptedthatwindspeedcanbereasonablypredictedasbeing
proportionaltothe1/7poweroftheheightabovetheground.Ifyoudothemath,youcanseethatthewindspeedactuallyDOUBLESoverthe
windsthatwenormallyencounterataround400feetheight.Yes,theirlargetowerwindmillsDOreachtothatheightattheverytopoftherotor
bladesmovement,sotheyarenotexactlylying.ButtheAVERAGEwindspeedencounteredbyanentiretowerwindmillrotoriscertainlysomewhat
lessthaniscommonlyclaimed,becausemostofthetimetherotorbladesareonly200feetor300feethigh.Isthatdeception?Hardtosay,but
wethinkitis!Butwearestillwillingtousethatclaimoftheirs,thatthewindspeedattheheightoftheirtowerwindmillrotorsisDOUBLEwhat
existsneartheground,aswedonotreallywanttobeatuponthemmorethantheymanagetodoontheirown!)
ThatparticularsizedwindmillisoftencitedashavingaRatingof1.8megaWatts.ThatnumberisgenerallyreferredtoasaPEAK
POWERRATING.ItdoesNOTreferintheleasttoAVERAGEpowerthatcouldbeexpected!ItdescribesasituationofFASTERwindsthan
usuallyactuallywouldoccur!ItisessentiallyjustsayingwhattheMAXIMUMthedevicecouldhandlebeforeburningout!Thisseemslikelytobe
verydeceptive.ReadersandinvestorsandLegislatorsseeafigureof1.8megaWattratingandtheyarelikelytoconcludethatmeansthatitWILL
PRODUCE1.8megaWattsofelectricity!Thatisnotremotelytrue!ITCANPRODUCEthatamountofelectricity,true,butonlyinmuchstronger
thannormalwindconditions.Itturnsoutthattheiractual(future)performancewillcertainlyevenbeworsethaneventhe0.5MegaWatts
calculatedabove!Adiscussionbelowexplainswhytheirwindmillscannotbeallowedtooperateathighwindspeedandarenot
practicaltobeusedatlowwindspeed,andthatthereisthereforeaCapacityFactorofaround34%,wherethat1.8megaWattRATED
(PEAKPOWER)windmillisactuallylikelytoconsistentlySUPPLYaround(0.50*0.34)or0.16megaWatts(inAVERAGEWINDS),less
than1/10whattheirRated(PEAKPOWER)claimseemstoimply.Someoneneedstostartcarefullycheckingtheaccuracyand
likelihoodoftheirclaims!
Itiseasytocalculatethatthe1.8megaWattPEAKPOWERRATINGwouldactuallyonlybetrueifthewindwasactuallymovingataround33mph.
EssentiallyallthatratingsaysisthattheMAXIMUMPERFORMANCEcanonlyoccuratawindspeedofaround33mph,withoutadmittingthatthe
ACTUALAVERAGEwindspeedexpectedisaround21mph.ThatisakintoadvertisingaCorvetteashavingaPEAKSPEEDofaround160mph.
Thatmightbeatruestatement,butitisessentiallyirrelevantforpracticalpurposes.
ItturnsoutthatwindsthataremuchslowerthanthathaveVERYlittlepowerinthem(halfasfastawindcontainsonlyONEEIGHTHthepowerin
it),sosuchtowerwindmillsarerarelyoperatedwhenthewindsareslow.However,whenthewindsaremuchfaster,themechanismcomesinto
greatdangerofdestroyingitself(ifitshouldbeallowedtospinmuchfaster,notingthateachofthethreebladesonmanyofthosetowersweighs
aroundfivetons!Imagineifsuchlargemasswouldstartspinningwildly!)(Duringthe1980s,manysuchtowerwindmillsdestroyedthemselvesin
suchways)Sothosetowerwindmillsarealsoshutdownwhenthewindisfast!
Thesetowerwindmillsareofadesigncalledahightipspeedwindaxisturbine.ThesehaveafactorcalledX,theturbinetipspeedratio,at
around5or6toone.Wejustdiscussedacommonwindspeedatthetopofatowerofabout21mphor32feetpersecond,thismeansthatthe
veryendsofthepropellerbladesaretravelingataround32*6or190feetpersecondoraround130mph.Whenfivetonpropellerrotorsare
spinningthatfast,immensecentrifugalforcesexistwhichtrytocausethepropellertodestroyitself!Thisfactexplainswhytheverylargetower
windmillshavetobeshutdownifthewindstartsblowingfaster!Thepropellerbladesontheverylargesttowerwindmillsoftenweigharound5
tonsapiece,andyoucanprobablyimagineifthatmassiveweighthundredsoffeethighintheairwouldstartspinningat400mphormore!Inthe
1980s,thereweresometowerwindmillsthatbuiltupsomuchcentrifugalforcethattheyselfdestructed!Therefore,nearlyallmoderntower
windmillsareshutdownifthewindstartsrising!Funny,isn'tit?
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Theresultoftheselimitsisthatsuchtowerwindmillsonlyactuallyoperatewhenthewindsareinafairlynarrowspeedrange,therefore
witharounda34%CapacityFactor.Theoperatorscanonlyhavethemconnectedtomakeelectricityaround1/3ofthetime(34%)Therefore,the
consumersofthatelectricitycanrealisticallyexpecttoreceiveanAVERAGEofaround0.16megaWattofelectricityandnotthecited
1.8megaWattsPEAKPOWER.Thatislessthan1/10whatthepublicisledtobelieve!"Ideal"performanceisgenerallycited,whichIS
relativelyimpressive.Itistoobadthatreallifeislikelytobeonly1/10ofthat!Suchnumberswouldchaseawaymostofthepossibleinvestorsand
alsothepoliticianswhoareneededtosupportsuchprojects.SotheturbinesareINFLATEDintohavinganalleged"RatedCapacity"of1.8
megaWatts,morethantentimeswhattheycanrealisticallybeexpectedtosupply!
SowhentheCapeCodpeopleannounce130futureturbines,eachallegedlyratedat1.8megaWatts(PEAKPOWER),theyALLOWreadersto
believethatmeansthat(130*1.8)234megaWattsofconsistentelectricitywouldbeprovidedtothecitizensandbusinessesonCapeCod.And
thatSOUNDSveryattractiveanddesirable!ButAFTERitisallinstalled,andpaidfor,andthepeoplethenlearnthatthewholeprojectonly
supplies1/10ofthat,(130*0.16)anAVERAGEofaround21megaWatts,whatcouldtheydothen?Notmuch.
Soaprojectthatwasexpectedtohavea2001costof$1.2billiondollars,hasalikelihoodofACTUALLYsupplyingonlyanaverageofaround21
megaWattsofelectricity(inaveragewinds)butwiththecapabilityofproducingaPEAKPOWERof234megaWatts(duringastorm,andjust
beforebeingshutdownforoverspeed!).Betterthannothing,true,butisitworthinvesting$1.2billiondollarstobeabletoreceiveabout$3,100
worthofelectricityinmosthours?Noonealsoevermentionsthatmanymillionsofdollarsworthofmaintenanceandrepairswouldcertainlybe
necessaryeveryyearforthose130complexdevicesspinningatfairlyhighspeed.Mediareportsindicatethateachofthose130windmillswill
havearound800movingpartsinthem,foratotalofover100,000constantlymovingpartsthatwillwearoutandbreakandrequiremaintenance.
SuchprojectsAREofvalue,buttheyarenotevenclosetowhattheyarepromotedasbeing!
Yes,IFthewindcouldbeguaranteedtoALWAYSblowataround33mph,ANDtheturbinescanbebuiltstrongenoughtonotselfdestructat
suchwindspeeds,thoseturbinesthenCOULDproducetheirclaimedoutput.Itain'tgonnahappen!(Windspeednearthegroundisusuallyaround
10mph,andat300feetaltitude,itisaboutdoublethat,21mph.ToEXPECTittoalwaysbetremendouslyfasterthanthat,isnearlyEasterBunny
orToothFairylevelexpectation!
Wementionedabovethatthetowerwindmillsareverycomplexsystems,theyareonverytalltowers,andtheyincludemovingbladeswhichcan
weighasmuchas5tonsandwhichcouldwindupmovingataround480mph(ifafairlynormalwindstormoccurs,wheregroundwindspeedsare
around40mph,thenthewindspeedatthetopofthetalltowerwouldbeaboutdoublethat,aswehavediscussed,or80mph.Andsince
propellertypetowerwindmillshavethatXfactorofabout6fromtheirdesign,thatmeanstheouterendsoftherotorbladeswouldbemovingat
around[80*6]or480mph).Doesthissoundatalldangeroustoyou?Itshould!
Thesedevicesarereallyhuge!Therotoronasinglewindmillisoften
nearlyaslargeindiameterasanentirefootballfieldislong!Since
thereareeithertwoorthreeblades,mountedonatowerthatis
generallyaround30stories(300feet)tall,theseareVERYlarge,
VERYheavyobjectsmovingaroundupthere,sometimes50stories
highatthetop!Obviously,theyusereallygoodbearingsonallthose
manyhundredsofsuchwindmills,butithastofigurethatsomeday
somebearingwillfailorsomeboltwillfallout.Wecanonlyhopethat
nopeopleoranimalsaredownbelowwhenthathappens,whenall
thosetonsofmaterialsfallallthatdistancetotheground!
Itseemsthateveryfewdays,oneofthesetowerwindmillsself
destructs!Herearesomestillphotosfromamoviemadeasonein
Denmarkdestroyeditselfinfairlynormalwindsinastorm.A10year
oldVestasturbinenearrhus,Denmark,spinsoutofcontrolduringa
stormonFeb.22,2008.Iteffectivelyexplodeswhenoneofthe
bladeshitsthetower.AccordingtoaFeb.25reportbyKentKroyerin
Ingeniren,"large,sharppiecesoffiberglasfromthebladerained
downoverthefieldeastoftheturbine,asfaras500metersfromthe
baseoftheturbine".AnothercollapseoccurredinSidinge[Vig?],
Denmark,2dayslater:"oneoftheheavybladesflew100meters
throughtheairandcrashedtothegroundwithaboom".Kroyer
continues:"IthasnotevenbeenamonthsinceasimilarVestas
turbineatNsinGotland,Sweden,lostabladeinthesamewayasin
Sidinge.Inthatcasethebladeflew40metersandhammereddown
inafield.Aneighbordescribedthebangas'asonicboomoracar
accident'.BeforetheNewYear,aVestasturbineinNorthernEngland
collapsed,andamonthearlieraVestasturbinecollapsedin
Scotland."Notethatthisisa10yearold600kWmodelandmuch
smallerthantoday'sbehemoths.
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Therotationrateshowninthevideosuggeststhatthegroundwind
speedasitdestroyeditselfwasprobablyaround60mph.Thiswasa
fairlysmallunit,around100feetindiameter(wheremanyrecent
onesarearound300feetindiameter)anditwasfairlynew(around
eightyearsold).Usingthemathematicalanalysispresentedinthis
page,weknowthatthewindspeedatthetopofthat200foottower
wasprobablyarounddoubleor120mph.WealsoknowthattheX
factorforthatdesignofpropellerbladesisaround6.0.Thismeans
thatthetipspeedoftherotorbladesinthisvideowasprobably
around6*120or720mph!Thisisessentiallyabovethespeedof
sound,sothereisnowonderthatitdisintegrated!
Clickhere(1.4MB)
orhere(1.2MB)
toviewtheMP4videos.
Clickhere(0.8MB)
orhere(1.1MB)
toviewtheverysimilarFlashvideos.
Orclickheretoseethenewscastwhichpresentedit.
ReportsofseveralthatdestroyedthemselvesintheBritishIslesin
early2009werealsointhenews."TurbinesinBritainthereare
2,000,almostallofwhichareonshorearen'timmunefromfailure.A
200ftturbineatawindfarminKintyrecollapsedlastNovember(2008)ina50mphwind.Followingthat,26windturbinesacrossScotlandwere
shutdownasaprecautionarymeasurewhilethebrokenstructurewasexamined.ThenthefollowingmonthinCumbria,a100ftsteelturbine
crashedtotheground."
Others:June24,2007,oneonfirenearPalmSprings,CA,USA.July12,2007,oneonfirenearVillarcayo.Feb.24,2008,(twodaysaftertheone
inthevideohere),onedisintegratedatNordtank.Sept13,2008,oneonfireinSpain.AnaccidentinWayneCounty,PA,USA.
Itseemsthatalotofpeoplekeeptheirvideocamerashandy,asduring2007,2008and2009,therehavebeenanamazingnumberofvideos
uploadedtoYoutubeandsimilarInternetwebsites.Anumberofthevideosshowthemechanismsonfire,whileothersshowthembecoming
imbalancedanddisintegrating.
Thefactthatthebasicdesignofmodernhightipspeedturbineshasthatfactorofaround6isacentralpartoftheirproblem.Ifthewindupthere
getsupto120mph,the6xfactormeansthatthespeedoftheveryendsoftherotorbladesisaround6*120or720mph.Thatbeingfasterthan
thespeedofsound,thesonicboomshockwavesgeneratedseemLIKELYtodestroytheouterend,andonceunbalanced,destroytherestofthe
rotorandusuallythetoweraswell.Itmightseemthat120mphwouldneverhappen,butthewholepointofbuildingreallytalltowersisbecause
thewindupthereismuchfasterthanattheground.Ifgroundwindspeedsarearound45mphto60mph(gale)thenthewindspeedat300feet
altitudecaneasilybe120mphorhigher.Soweatherconditionsthatwouldcausetipbladeendstoexceedthespeedofsoundarenotas
ridiculousasmighthaveseemed.
Asthegovernmentisgettingmoreandmoreaggressivelysupportingwindenergyprojects,therearegettingtobetrulyoutrageous
numbersthrownaround,300megaWatts,500megaWatts,andnooneseemstobeblinkinganeyeregardinghavinganydoubts
regardingtheaccuracyandthereforefuturebenefitsofsuchinstallations.Butifsomeinstallationisboughtandpaidforonthe
assumptionthatitwillSUPPLYaconsistent300megaWattsofelectricity,andwhenthatinstallationisbuiltandoperationalinfiveor
tenyearsanditturnsoutthatitactuallyonlySUPPLIES30megaWattsofelectricity,thatmightbebeneficial,butisn'tthatstill
essentiallyashellgame,outrightdeceptionofthepublicandthegovernment?
Suggestion:
DirectlyaskaboutthedifferencebetweenPEAKPOWERthattheyliketotalkaboutandAVERAGEPOWERthatyouwillactuallybe
abletoexpect!ThefiguresandthelogicaboveshowthatthetwocanoftenbedifferentbyafactorofaboutTEN!Getthecompany
thatintendstomakemillionsinprofitsconfrontthisissue!Iftheycan'torwon't,itwouldbeabadsign!
IFthereisagiantwindfarmabouttobebuiltnearyou,INSISTonseeingtheRESULTSofanINDEPENDENTSTUDYofayear's
operationofANYothercompletedwindfarmintheworld!NooneseemstohavenoticedthatNOsuchdocumentationisever
available,becausetheperformanceofsuchwindfarmsissopitifulascomparedtotheCLAIMSmadeforthem.Obtaindataon
ACTUALDELIVEREDELECTRICITYPERYEARandalsotheCOSTOFCONSTRUCTIONPERWINDMILL.DoNOTacceptamanufacturer's
evidencethatunderidealconditionstheirsystemcanproduceacertainPEAKamountofelectricity!ThenYOUcoulddothemathregardingthe
actualbenefitsofwhatisbeingproposedtoyou!
Yes,iftheCapeCodpromoterswouldbemorehonestandstatethattheycouldeventuallyprovideARELIABLE21megaWattsofelectricity,that
wouldbeausefulandsignificantaccomplishment.Theydon'tseemwillingtodothat(behonest)becausetheyknowthatthereisnoone
(apparentlyexceptus!)thatisgoingtochallengeanyclaimstheymake,especiallysincethereissuchuniversalenthusiasmforwindpower.But
theyalsoknowthattheyhavetobegivingimpressivelylargenumbers,totrytocauseaweinpoliticiansandinvestorsandinthepublic,where
theycanthenhavenearlyunlimitedbudgetstobuildtheirexpensiveprojects.
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ImportanceofAmortization
Nooneseemstoeverbeconcernedwhetheranyalternativeenergydeviceswilleverpayforthemselves!Apparently,thereissuchgleeand
enthusiasmregardingthelatestnewideathatnooneeverlooksthatfar!However,therealityisthatvirtuallyNOalternativeenergydeviceshave
everpaidfortheirowncostofmanufacture,withtheexceptionofverysmallandsimpledeviceswhichwerenotveryexpensive.AsfarasIknow,
NOhightechwindmillyetbuilthaseverpaidforitsownconstructioncost,muchlessactuallyprovidedanysavingsinelectricity!
Let'sexploresomegeneralnumbers.Wediscussedabovethateachpopulartowerwindmillcurrentlycostsaround$15millioninconstructionand
the130towerwindmillsrealisticallycanproduceanaverageof$3100worthofelectricityeveryhour.Thatisaround$25worthofelectricityper
hourperwindmill.Ifweignoreanycostofmaintenance,thatimpliesthatthewindmillwouldhavetooperatecontinuouslyforroughly600,000
hours,(theonedividedbytheother)justtoamortizethecostoftheinitialconstruction.Thatis25,000daysor70years!Aratherimportant
DETAIL,eh?Assumingthatitneverneededanymaintenanceorrepairsfor70years,itwouldonlythenactuallycrediblyevenpayforitsown
constructioncost.AFTERthat,itmighthaveachanceofactuallyproducingelectricityatasavings!
Forcomparison,wemightexaminetheamortizationoftheoldstylefarmwindmillfromthelate1800s.Inourotherwindpresentation,we
presentedtheanalysiswheresucha10footdiameterwindmillcouldproducearound1/6horsepowertopumpwaterupawelloritcouldbeset
uptoproduceanaverageofaround60wattsofelectricity.Thatisaboutapenny'sworthofelectricityeveryhour,whichisaround$100peryear.
Dependingonhowexpensivethesmalltowerwastoconstructandthesimplerotorofanonairfoilfarmwindmill,ifitcouldbebuiltfor$500,that
impliesthatitmightamortizeitsconstructioncostinaround5years.Nottooimpressive,butatleastitcouldeventuallyactuallybeintheblack!
Duringthe1980s,alotofpeopleweretalkedintobuyingimpressivetowerwindmillsfor$7,000to$15,000constructioncost.Youcanprobably
seethatevenifsuchwindmillshadcontinuouslyoperatedforthepast30years,eveniftheyperformedwellandprovided$300or$400worthof
electricityeveryyear,theywouldonlynowbestartingtohavepaidfortheirinitialconstructioncost.Unfortunately,virtuallyallofthemhad
mechanicalorelectricalfailureslateinthe1980sandIdoubtifanyofthemarestilloperating.Ifthereisone,whichhasoperatedsmoothlyand
continuouslyforthepast30years,withoutneedinganyexpensivemaintenanceorrepairs,thatMIGHTbeauniquetowerwindmillthatmayhave
finallyamortizeditself!
Fortherecord,themanyattemptsatsolarenergyhavealsodismallyfailedatamortizingthemselves,againwiththeexceptionofverysimpleand
veryinexpensivedeviceslikeswimmingpoolheatersandsuch.
Forallthehype,alternativeenergydeviceshavehadatrulydisappointingrecordofnever(yet)actuallypayingtheirownway!Thesystem
describedinthispresentationisverydifferentregardingthis.Theconstructioncostisonlyabout1/8thatofatowerwindmill,andithasfarhigher
averageefficiency,whereamortizationiseasilyshowntobequiteattractive,commonlyinaroundtwoyearsofoperation!Eventhefactthatour
setofexponentialhornsinterceptsaroundseventimesasmuchairasamuchmoreexpensivetowerwindmilldoes,contributestowardgreatly
improvingamortizationofthesystem.
Andtheconceptpresentedhere?Thenumberspresentedaboveindicatethatitisdesignedto(veryconservatively)provideroughly$80of
electricityeveryaveragehourforacommunity.(Actually,the1.2megaWattswedesignedthisformeans1200kWhperhour,andifthatelectricity
canallbesoldat15centsperkWh,thatisevenmoreattractiveat$180ofelectricityforeveryaveragehourforthecommunity!)Doesn'tsound
likemuch!But$80perhouris$2,000perdayor$750,000peryearofproducedelectricity.Inabouttwoandahalfyearsofoperation,that
amortizestheentire$1.8millionconstructioncostweproject.Insteadoftaking70yearsbeforeanyactualbenefitregardingelectricitywould
begin,aswiththetowerwindmills,twoandahalfyearsisveryattractive!THATisthemainreasonwhywethinkthisissuchanexcellentconcept!
(Usingthehighernumber,the$180/hour,thatamortizesatabout$1.6millionperyear,evenfasteryet!)
Backtoourconcept!
Sincewewillneglecttomentionthislater,wenoteherethattheSOUNDcreatedbyoursystemisallINSIDEtheconcreteenclosure,andis
thereforegreatlyreducedforanynearbyresidents.OursystemisNOTahightipspeedturbine,butanentirelydifferentdesignwhichisa
Momentumdevice.Infact,itisNOTanaerodynamic(liftbased)rotoratall,andinsteadisamomentum(dragbased)system.Thismeansthat
thefactorcalledX,theturbinetipspeedratio,isgenerallynearlyalwaysaround1.0.Wherewesawabovethatthetowerwindmillshavetheir
propellertipsflyingataround190ft/sec,ourscanonlymoveaboutthesamespeedthatthewindisblowing,inourcase,initiallyjust24ft/sec,but
increasedtosomewhatfasterairspeedbytheExponentialHornshape.Still,NEVERremotelynearthespeedsthatthehightipspeedtower
windmillsalwaysoperatewith.Thisgreatlyreduces(air)noises,butitalsoallowsoursystemtooperateoveramuchwiderrangeofwindspeeds,
greatlyincreasingtheCapacityFactorforgreaterelectricaloutput.Itwouldalsobeeasytoaddexternalsoundinsulationaroundthatfairlysmall
circularenclosuretoeliminatesoundandnoisecompletely!
Theturbinetipspeedratioalsoprovidesuswithanestimateoftherateofrotationofourrotor.Astheairisfunneledinto1/4thecrosssectional
areaintheExponentialHorn,wecanexpecttheairtospeeduptonearlyfourtimestheinitialaveragewindspeedof24ft/sec.WiththeXratioof
1.0,thismeansthattheperimeteroftherotorislikelytomoveataround96ft/sec.Sincethecircumferenceofourrotorisaround315feet,this
tellsusthattherotorwilllikelyrotateat96/315or0.3revolutionspersecond,orjustover18RPM.THISspeedwouldbeforanunloaded
situation,wherenoelectricitywasbeingproduced.Whenlargeamountsofelectricityisbeingproduced,therotorspeedisslower,being
dependentonjusthowmuchelectricitywasbeingproducedatanymoment,but10to12RPMisarealisticexpectationwheninfulloperation,
withaveragewindspeed.
TheseconcretewallsarerelativelystraightbutdesignedtovaguelyresemblethecurvedshapeofaPublicAddressloudspeaker,butonlyvery
slightlycurved.Technically,theshapeiscalledanExponentialHorn.Thisdrawingistoshowprevailingwindscomingfromtherighthandsideof
thedrawing,andthenbeingfunneledintoasmallerspaceafterithaspassedbetweenthe(curved)concretewalls,leavingtotheleftofthe
drawing.
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Inthisdrawing,thewidthoftheendopening(ontheleft)wewilldefineasbeing50feet,andwewillcallitA0.Theequationatthetopgivesthe
dimensionsofanExponentialHorn,whereAisthewidth(verticalinthedrawing)ofthehornatanylocation,xisthedistancealongthehorn
centerline(fromtheplusmarkatthelefthandsideofthedrawing,atthecenteroftheexitopening).eisthebaseofthenaturallogarithms,
2.718281828.misaconstantwhichwechoosetodeterminethetaperrateofthehorn.Wechoose0.0034657.
Bychoosingthisconstant,wecanseethatatadistancex=400feetalongthecenterline,thewidthofthehornhasincreasedtoexactlyfour
timesthe50feet(leftside)width,ortherefore,theOPENINGofthehorn(totheright)isexactly200feetwide.
So,forconstruction,itisonlynecessarytocarefullymarkoutthecenterline,andascaleoffeetbeginningatthex=0pointatthecross,anditis
thenveryeasytobeabletocalculatetheexactwidthofthehorn,andthereforemarktheexactpositionsoftheconcretewalls,ateverypoint.For
example,atthepoint127feetfromtheleftendpointinthedrawing,wehave:
A=50*e.0034657*127
Whichis77.65feettotalwidththere,meaningtheinsidesurfaceofeachwallishalfthatdistance,or38.82feetfromthecenterline,whichis38
feet9and7/8inches.
ThatisessentiallyallthemajordesignworkneededfortheshapeoftheconcretewallsoftheExponentialHorns!
Thereasonitisimportant,bothinloudspeakersandhere,isthatthisspecificshapeprovidesa"transition"fromoneenvironmenttoanother,with
virtuallynoturbulenceorotherlossesbeingformedintheprocess.ThetechnicalsubjectisreferredtoascreatinganAcousticImpedanceMatch.
Sothe"mouth"(oropening)betweenapairofsuchwallswouldbebuiltsotheyarefacingrelativelywest(intheMidWestUS)orslightlynorthof
that,whateverthedirectionthatthePrevailingwindscomefrom.Theoncomingwindwouldthenflowintothat200footwidespacebetweenthe
twotallconcretewallsandgraduallyget"funneled"intoanarrowerpath,eventuallyjust50feetwide.
Westronglyrecommendusingrebarsintheconcrete,tobeabletomakethewallslessthickandstillbedurable,whichcangreatlyreducethe
costoftheconcreteandthelabortomixandinstallit.
(ManypeopleseemtothinkthisdesignistocreatehigherPRESSURE,whichistechnicallytrue,butthatisbarelythecase!Yes,itcreates
SLIGHTLYhigherpressure(byaboutonepartin1400),butthecentraladvantagehereisregardingMOMENTUMoftheair.Primarily,thisis
relatedtoasanincreaseintheVELOCITYoftheair,increasingasitbecomesfunneledintothenarrowerpath.
Theminimalincreaseinairpressureisnotevennoticeablebyanypersonoranyanimal,whichmightbeinsidetheexponentialhorn.Thehigher
speedofthewindsinthereAREobvious.TheendofthehornIScoveredbychainlinkfencingorothermethodstokeepanychildrenorpetsout
oftherotorassembly,whichCOULDbedangerous,althoughbirdsshouldbeabletoflyentirelythroughtheentirehornandrotorwithoutany
dangertothem!
Allthesameairistheninthatsmallerspace,butnowitismovingfasterandhasslightlyhigherairpressureinit.Attherearendofthecurved
concretewalls,thatnowfastermovingairentersintoan(enclosed)mechanismthatresemblestherevolvingdoorofmanyofficebuildings.But
thefunctionisratherdifferenthere,wherethespeedandpressureofthewind(actually,theMomentum)reallyhasnochoicebutto"forceits
way"throughthatassembly,whichforcesthatassemblytorotate.(Thisisactuallyavariantonalongusedverticalaxiswindturbine(VAWT)
calledaSavoniusRotor).
Obviously,THIS"revolvingdoor"isalotbigger!Itis100feettalland50feetwideforeachfinorpaddleor100feetwideoverall,andisweldedup
ofstandardstructuralsteelmaterialsavailablelocally.Therearefourfinsorpaddles,suchthatatanyinstant,atleastONEpaddleblocksoffthe
entireoutletairflowfromtheExponentialHornstructure.Another,fairlysmallpartialsemicircularenclosingwallisalsoneededhere(likethe
enclosureofarevolvingdoor)whichtrapsallthatairintoforcingitswaythroughthefin/paddle/door.
Therotatingshaftofthisassemblyisonverylargethrustbearings.Itrotatesfairlyslowly,aroundsixtotwentyfivetimesperminute(rpm),andso
itthendrivesageartrainandthenarelativelycommonlyavailablealternatortoproducetheelectricitytosendtonearbyhouses.Ifthealternator
produces11,000voltelectricity,ofaboutthesamevoltagethattheexistingutilitypolescarrytoyourhouse,theneachalternatorwouldonlyneed
tohaveanoutputofaround11amperes,whereextremelythinandinexpensivewirescanbeused(justlikeontheutilitypolesnow).Theten
differentalternatorscouldeachsupplyadifferentsetsofmaybe100houseseach.Alternately,thepowercouldbecombinedtogetherfromallten
alternatorsandthentransferredtothetowninamoreconventionalmanner,possiblybecausethatmightbemuchmorecompatiblewithusageof
thepowergridwhenthewinddidnotblow.
NONEofthisisverycomplicated,andNONEofitrequiresanytechnologythathasnotlongbeenprovenandused!Thelaborershiredtoerect
thewoodenformsfortheconcretewoulddothesamethathasbeendonemillionsoftimesbefore,sotheirtrainingwouldbeminimal.The
employeesinalocalweldingshopwoulduseconventionalMIGorsubarcweldingtobuildtheneededassemblies.Itmightbemostpracticalto
havetherotorfinsbuiltinIDENTICAL50footby8footsubassemblies,sothatanylocalweldingshopcouldbuildthem.Suchsubassemblies
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wouldeachweighlessthan4,000poundsandthereforeeasilybemovedaroundandontoflatbedtrucks,andtheycouldthenbeeasilyhauled
fromtheweldingshop(s)tothesiteonstandardflatbedtrucks.Astandardcranecouldraiseeach4000poundsectionfromthetruckontopof
thepreviousstacktobebolted,rivetedorweldedon.(Atotalofaround50ofthesesubassemblieswouldneedtobeweldedupandhauledout
tothesiteandstackedtoformeachfourfinnedrotor.)
Theworkerswouldbuildarowoftenofthesecompleteidenticalsystems,adjacenttoeachother,wheretheywouldeventuallycovermostofthe
20acresofland.Fromtheirpointofview,itwouldnotbethatdifferentfrombuildingaseriesofidenticalhomesinasubdivision,oneafterthe
other.Well,concretehomes!Atthesametime,theweldingshopswouldbeweldingupthemany(around500total)identicalsectionsofthefins.
Alloftheworkisextremelystandardandmundanelabor.
Sincethisinstallationwouldlikelybewithinafewmilesofthetownthatwouldusetheelectricity,thereisprobablynotevensignificantbenefitin
havingtoinstallhightensionelectriclines,althoughgeneratingtheelectricityatmaybe11,000voltsmightbebeneficial.Atthatvoltage(whichis
currentlythevoltageusedinnearlyallthepowerlinesweseeacrossourneighborhoods),standardutilitypolesarefine.Asinglestandardthin12
gaugewire,capableofcarryingupto20amperesinnormaluse,wouldthereforebeabletocarry(11,000volts*20amperes)220,000wattsof
electricityfromthefacilitytothehundredhomesinthetownthatweretoreceivetheelectricityfromthatparticularalternator.Betweenthe10
separatealternators,thatisanabilitytodeliveraround2.2megaWattsofelectricitytothethousanddestinationhomes.Thisistoindicatethat
evenverycommonandinexpensivewiringcouldhandleDOUBLEthenormal(conservative)electricityproductionofthissystem.
AcentralpointinallthisisthatNOexoticalternatorwouldbeneededorevendesired,andanofftheshelfalternatorwouldbeexcellentthe
concreteconstructionisbothveryeconomicalandverywellprovenbyusingairentrainingconcrete,therecanbegreatresistancetofreezing
andthawing,andthesteelconstructionisalsobothveryeconomicalandverywellproven.ThereisNOPOSSIBLEWAYthattherecouldbeany
costoverruns!AND,thefactthatinthefirstthreeyearsofoperation,atleasttwomilliondollarsofelectricitywouldbeproducedandsuppliedand
sold,theentiresystemwouldpayforitselfwithinlessthanthreeyearsofuse!Afterthat,themanyyearsofusewouldalljustbegravy!
SomeTechnicalStuff!
ActualFunctionality
Anymovingmaterialcarrieskineticenergyandmomentum.Thebasiclawsofkinematicsallowaneasyanalysisofafirstapproximationof
performance.Essentially,anywindpowermechanismcapturesenergybyslowingdownthespeedofthewindinvolved.ThefamousRankinewas
thefirsttodeveloptheequationsforit.Insimpleterms,hedeterminedthemomentuminthewindtostartwiththenrecognizedthattheair
becomespressurizedjustforwardoftherestrictionofaturbine,whichconvertskineticenergyintopressureenergy,whichslowstheairdownby
anamountcalledtheinterferencefactortheairthenlosesmoreenergytotheturbineitself,whichslowstheairdownagain.Ananalysisofthe
ConservationofMomentumestablishesanequation.Then,applyingthefactthatConservationofEnergymustalsoapply,wearriveatreliable
equationsthatshowthetheoreticalperformanceofanywindturbine.
Undisturbedwindcontainspowerfromkineticenergy(energyflux)equalto:
E=0.5**V3**R2.
Notethatthisisasimpleapplicationofthekineticenergydefinition.Itincludesthe(moving)massofair,whichinvolvesitsdensityandalsoathird
velocityfactor.ItisanequationthatRankinederivedlongago.AlsonotethatthepowerinthewindisdependentontheTHIRDpowerofV,the
windspeed.A20mphwindhasabout8timesasmuchpowerasa10mphwind,anda40mphwindhasabout64timesasmuchpower.(
(rho)isthedensityofair.)
TheanalysisofmomentumbyRankineproducedthefollowingequationfortheaxialthrust(force)appliedtoaturbine:
T=2**R2**V2*a*(1a)
Noticethat:*R2isjustthefrontalarea,foracircularwindmillthatRankinewasthenconsidering.Allweactuallycareaboutistheareaitself.
isagaintheairdensityor0.00237lbf*sec2/ft3.
ForONEofourfunnelarrangements,wehaveanundisturbedinitialareaofnaturalwindof100feettalland200feetwideor20,000squarefeet.
WecanseethatRankine'sformulaabovenowbecomes:
T=2*(20,000squarefeet)*(0.00237lbf*sec2/ft3)*V2*a*(1a)
ManylocationsintheUShaveaveragewindspeedsofaround10mphatgroundlevel.Thisairspeedtendstoincreasehigherup,withthe
windspeedoftenbeingataround18mphat100feethigh.Fortheheightofwallswehavechosen,theaveragewindspeedisoftenaround60%
faster,andsowewilluseaconservativevalueof16mph(23.5feet/second)asthebaseaveragewindspeedinthesecalculations.
Thebestvalueforais1/3,sothea*(1a)factoris1/3*2/3or2/9or0.2222Wethereforehave:
T=52,000pounds(duetotheinitialundisturbedwind,andnotyetconsideringtheefficiencyofanydevice).
Afteraccountingfortheinterferencefactor,Thrust=11,500pounds(foreachoneofourtenassemblies).
Becauseofourfunnelingeffect,thewindactuallyincreasesinspeedbeforeitgetstotheturbinethatwecauseittomove,sotheThrustorForce
appliedtothatmechanismtoturnitisactuallysomewhatgreaterthanthis.Wewillnotgointothatmathematicshere,asitisalittlecomplex.
Youcanprobablyseethatsincewearrangeitsowindappliesaforceofaround11,500poundsthrusttothepaddleontherotatingmechanism,it
WILLturn,ANDitwillturnageartrainandalternatoraswell!
Wecanalsocalculatetheavailableenergyfluxinitiallyintheundisturbedwind,usingthatkineticenergycontentequationpresentedabove.For
theconditionsjustdescribed:
E=0.5*(0.00237)*(23.53)*20,000
or
E=306,000ftlb/sec,about557horsepower,orabout415,000wattsofactualpowerinthatwindarea!Weproposebuildingtenofthese,sothe
totalofthemwouldbe4,150,000wattsor4,150kiloWatts,or4.15megaWatts.ThisisNOTelectricpowerbutsimplytheAVALIABLEpowerin
thewind.
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RankinefirstshowedthatsimpleanalysisofenergyandmomentumestablishesthattheMAXIMUMtheoreticalefficiencyofanywindturbineis4*
a*(1a)2,where'a'isthefractionalreductioninwindspeed(calledtheinterference
factor)fromtheoriginalfreeflowtothelocationattheplaneoftheturbineblade.This
suggestsatheoreticalmaximumata=0.3333,wheretheefficiencywouldbe59.3%.If
thefreewindvelocitywasreducedbyonethirdattheplaneoftheturbineblade(and
reducedbyanotherthirdimmediatelybehindit,thetheoreticalmaximumefficiencycould
behad.(Regardingoursystem,thismeansthatatheoreticalmaximumofaround2.5
megaWattsofmechanicalpowermightbeextractedfromthewind.)
Inpracticalterms,thereareswirlsorturbulencesinthewakethathavenotbeen
accountedforhere,andtherearesomeminorradialpressuregradients(centrifugal
effects)thatarealsonotaccountedfor,inthissimplisticanalysis.Morethorough
equationsexistthatbetteraccountforthesematters,whicharebeyondthescopeofthis
article,andtheyfairlyaccuratelyrepresenttheperformanceofthevariousturbine
technologies.ButtheymakeclearthatACTUALperformanceofROTARYwindmill
devicescanneverbeveryclosetothe(59.3%)theoreticalnumbers.
AtremendousadvantageoftheExponentialHornstructureofthissystemisthatmanyturbulencesareeliminated.IfaSECONDExponentialhorn
isprovidedattherear,toenabletheairtoagainexpandoutwiderandslowdown,thebenefitscanbeevengreater.AcrudetraditionalSavonius
Rotorcausesareductioninnetwindspeedofaround3.5%(7%total)maximum,whichlimitsittoits14%maximumefficiency.Thissystemisa
verydistantsecondcousintotheSavoniusconcept,andmakesmanyimprovementstotheSavonius.Infact,thissystemactuallyoperatesonan
entirelydifferentbasicapproach,ofFORCINGthewindtohavetogoTHROUGHtheVAWTmechanisminordertogetpasttheobstructingwalls.
ItisthereforeasystemwhichcreatesaslightPRESSUREagainsttheforwardsurfaceoftheturbinepaddles,andtheairhasnoalternativebutto
forcetheturbinepaddlebackinordertofinallygetpastourobstruction!
ThisfactenablesthisBASICsystem(withoutanyExponentialHornfunnelingwalls)tohaveatleast35%overallefficiency.IfwellbuiltExponential
Horninfeedstructuresarealsoprovided,thenanoverallefficiencyofgreaterthan50%mayberealistic.Sothesystemdescribedheremight
certainlybeabletocapturearound2.5megaWattsofpowerfromthisareaofair,butwechoosetouseaveryconservativeapproachtothe
calculationswhereweknowthataround1.4megaWattsofcapturedmechanicalpowerwillbecapturedfromthat4.2megaWattsofpower
availableinthewind.Thealternatorstoconvertthismechanicalpowerintoelectricityisnotquiteperfectefficiency,andwearriveataveryreliable
1.2megaWattsofreliableelectricitybeingcreated.Inprinciple,areallywellbuiltsystemmighteasilyproducetwicethisusableoutputof
electricity.
EconomicsofExistingWindFarms
Theextremelyhugenewpropellerturbinesonwindfarmscanhaveefficienciesaround43%45%(whenthewindisblowing,ofcourse).Asmall
windfarmmightcost$100milliontobuildandinstall,anditmightrealisticallyproduceaMAXIMUMof10Megawattsofpowerwhenthereiswind.
IFthewindwouldkeepgoingforall8800hoursthatareinayear,thatwouldmeanthatitcouldprovide88millionkilowattsperyear.Butithas
beenfoundthatsuchequipmentonlyhasaCapacityFactorofaround34%,duetotheTIMEofthewindmovingataspeedwhichisinthenarrow
rangeofusablespeedsforsuchturbines.Atcurrentlargequantityelectricityprices,thatwouldmeananoptimisticaround$1.7millioneachyear
(forthetotalbenefitofaroundTENsuchtowermountedturbines.Eachseparate$10milliondevicewouldonlylikelyprovidearound$170,000
worthofelectricity,meaningthatsuchequipmenthasnorealisticpossibilityofeveramortizingitsowncost.).Ofcourse,thatwouldbegross
income,havingtocoveralltheemployeesofthesite,andallmaterialsandrepairs,andalloftheextensivemaintenancethatisneededforsuch
towersandsuchgiantwindmillsandtheirmechanisms..Ifsuchanentirewindfarmcouldgenerateeven$1millioninnetprofits,whichseems
somewhatunlikely,itwouldnotevencomeclosetocoveringtheInterestonthehundredsofmillionthatwasinvested,muchlessEVERpayfor
itself.YoumightnotethatIdonotseemuchcausetobeahugefanoflargescalewindfarms.ShowmesomeactualAccountingnumberswhere
thereisachancethattheymightpayforthemselves...thenmaybe!INPRINCIPLE,theyhaveagoodidea!Buttheirapproachtocapturing
windpowerseemsincompletelythoughtthrough!
ProblemsInLargerPropellerWindTurbineSystems
ItturnsoutthatthereareMANYproblemsinthelargerversionsofthosedevices.AscaryfactisthattheDESIGNERSofthehugewindturbines
onthosewindfarmsoftenwindupGUESSINGaboutcertaindesigncharacteristics!Therehasnotbeenalongenoughhistoryofusageto
actuallyknowmanythingsyet!
Onespectacularproblemthatoccurredmanytimesinthe1980sandearly1990swaswherethedesignerhadnottakenintoaccountthedesign
factorsofforcedvibrations,andspecificallytheStrouhalnumbercalculations!AsaresultofsuchEngineeringblunders,whenthewindwouldbe
atacertainspeedtocausetheturbinetorotateataspecificspeed,thatspeedwouldbearesonantfrequencyofthetowerstructure!Thetower
wouldstartviolentlyshakinganddestroyitself.Thisproblemhasbeenwellknownforatleast60years,asmanyearlytallsmokestackswould
destroythemselvesinsurprisinglymoderatespeedwinds,andyoumayhaveseenthepopularmovieoftheTacomaNarrowsBridgewhich
vibratedandtwisteditselfintodestructionaround1940.
Anotherrelatedproblemalsooccurredmanytimesinlargewindmillinstallations.Eachtimeabladewouldpassbehindorinfrontofthetower
structure,therewasabrieflossofthrustandgreatchangeoflocalforcesonthatblade.Somelargewindmillswounduphavingtherotorswildly
vibrating,andatthetime,nooneseemedtoevenknowwhy!Samething,asimpleapplicationoftheStrouhalnumbercouldhaveidentified
potentiallydangerousrotationrates,andsimplestiffeningofthetowerandthebladeseasilyalwayssolvedthatsortofproblem.Ifthewindwould
everbe400mph,theremaythenstillbeavibrationproblem,buttheentiresystemwouldprobablyhavefallenoverfirstinsuchridiculouswinds.
ThereareanumberofotherseriousDesign/Engineeringissuesinthetrulyhugedevicesnowbeingmade.Somearesolargethatthediameters
oftherotorbladesarethesizeofafootballfield,around300feet!Theyalsohaveconsiderableweight,insomecases,eachindividualblade
weightsaroundfivetons.Whensuchmassiveandhugeobjectsareexpectedtoreliablyrotateforyearsonend,manycomplicatingsurprises
oftenshowup.Oneofthemoreinteresting(tome)isthattherotorsarenowsohugethattheweather/windspeedforoneportionof
therotatingmotionisdifferentthanforadifferentarea!Thiscancauseimmensemechanicalstressesonthestructureoftheblades,
therotorshaftandbearingsandthetower.Sincenoonehaseverbuiltanythingofthatsizethatisintendedtomoveandsurviveintense
storms,designersareoftenatadisadvantage!Thecommonprocedureistosimplyshuttheentirewindfarmdownanytimethewindstartedto
rise!Theyalsodonotworkwhenthewindisgoingreallyslow,sothepracticalsituationtodayisthatthosegiantwindfarmsreallyonlyperform
wellforarathernarrowrangeofwindspeeds!Ifyouhavedrivenpastmanyofthem(andIhave)itisextremelyraretoseeallthewindmills
turning!Yes,theTVpromotionalcommercialsalwaysshowthemallmerrilyrotating,buttherealityisthatitisnotthatcommoninreallife!
Infact,someofthewindfarmsIhavedrivenpast,haveonlyhadoneortwooftheentirefieldofwindmillsactuallyturning!Someofthemare
usuallyevenpointedinthewrongdirection!ForsomethingthatthepromotershaveassuredtheAmericanpublicthattheycanrelyon,itisnot
verycomfortingtoseesuchdisappointments.Actually,IcannotrecallEVERseeingALLthewindmillsinanywindfarmactuallyspinningproperly!
Forallourbillionsoftaxpayerdollars,onewouldthinkwecouldexpectmorethanthat!
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BacktoOURapproach!
ThereAREsomepotentialcomplicationstoconsider.IFsuchaninstallationwasintendedtosomehowhookintothePowerGrid,thenthe
inexpensivealternatorsreferredtoabovemaynotbesuitable.
Oneofthemostsevereproblemswas/isthattheelectricalgeneratorscommonlyusedarepoorlysuitedforthisapplication.Nearlyallofthe
home/commercialsizedwindmillssoldinthe1980sand1990susedeithersynchronousorinductiongenerators,becausethecostofsuchtypes
ofgeneratorsismoderateenoughtobeabletosellthesystems!However,synchronousgeneratorsaregreatIFthespinrateisexactlycontrolled
andconstant.Whenthespinratechanges,suchgeneratorscreateverylargeharmonicvoltagesinthePowerGrid!
Onepopularsupposedsolutiontothisoverthepast20yearshasbeentouseacontrolsystemthatincludedasynchronousinvertertoconvert
createdDCvoltageintoAC.Thiscontrolsystemgenerallyisofveryreasonablecost,andfairlysimple,anditworksfineforanindividualhome,
butwhenittriestofeedintoapowergrid,ithaspowerqualityandharmonicinjectionproblems,andthereareresultinginductiveLOADSonthe
PowerGrid,andtheygenerallywindupDRAWINGMOREinductive(voltampere)powerFROMthegridthanthewattstheyare(resistively)
puttingintoit!UtilitycompaniesalsodidNOTlikethefactthattheirpowerlineswerethenhavingundesirableanddestructiveresonantvoltagesin
them.Asaresult,UtilitycompaniestodayinsistononlyacceptingcertaintypesofWECSsystemsforprovidingpowertotheirPowerGridlines.
Nearlynohomesizedsystemsqualified.
Theotherkindofgenerator,theinductiongenerator,isgenerallymoreexpensive,anditcantolerateaSMALLrangeoffrequencyvariationsbutit
haditsownsetofproblems.Thepointherebeing:YoushouldprobablynotreallycountonyourlocalUtilityCompanyagreeingtopayyoufor
excesswindelectricitythatyouwanttoputontotheirGrid.Whentheyagreetosuchanarrangement,theynowusuallyinsistonextraelectronic
controlsthatarequiteexpensive.
OneconsistentproblemthatseemstoshowupinallofthelargersizedWECSinstallationshastodowiththevibrationsandstressesinthe
equipment.Someisduetowindgustsandturbulences,whileothersareduetothevibrationsoftherotatingturbineandothercomponentsthat
havetobeabletomove.Overtimeofoperationofsuchsystems,ithasbeensadlycommonthatvariousfastenersbecomeloosenedfromthe
vibrationandstresses.Dependingonwhichfastenerscomeloose(andusuallyfallout)therangeofthebadthingsthatthenhappenispretty
broad.
Thewinddoesnotalwaysblowataspeedinthenarrowrangeneededformaximumandsafeperformance!Infact,whenallconditionsare
considered,aCapacityFactordefineswhataverageperformancecanbeexpected.Foratowerwindmillturbinethatismountedona50meter
(160foot)talltower,inareasonablywindylocation,theCapacityFactorcanbearound35%.Thatmeansthat,fortowerwindmillwindfarms,
OTHERsourcesofelectricitywouldlikelybeneededMOST(65%)ofthetime!
Pleasenotethatthegreateconomyandsimplicityofconstructionofthisapproachhasmanyadvantagesoverthepopularwindfarmapproach,if
onlyforcostingonlyabout1/10asmuch!Butinaddition,maintenanceissuesalmostdonotevenexistinthisverysimplesystem,while
maintenancecostsareenormousforwindfarms.However,carefulanalysisofthewindDIRECTIONSfromlocalweatherrecordsisprudent.Most
locationshavePrevailingwinds,meaningthatthewindsCOMMONLYcomefromaconsistentdirection.ThereAREwaystocircumventthis,for
examplebybuildingFOURidenticalsystemspointedinthefourdirections,suchthatONEofthemwouldalwaysbeabletousewindsfromthat
directiontogenerateelectricity!Butsomelocalplanningregardingtheweatherrecordsmakesalotofsense!
Summary
IdonotbelieveIhaveeverheardofanyoneEVERdiscussingthenumberofyearsbeforeanyalternativeelectricalsourcesmightamortizetheir
ownconstructioncost.Thatismostlybecausetheycannotrealisticallythinkthattheyeverywill.Iamcurrentlytryingtofindgovernment
AccountingdataregardingtheSolarPowerTowerthatwasbuiltnearAlbuquerque,NewMexicoin1978.Onewouldhopethatafter30yearsof
usage,atleastpartofitsinitialconstructioncostmighthavenowbeenamortized.Butnooneseemsverywillingtoreleasesuchinformation,such
aswhattheannualmaintenancecostsarenowandwhethertheelectricityproducedisevenenoughtocoverthosesimplecostsofoperation.I
personallydoubtit.
Butsincethissystemissosimpleandinexpensive,ANDitwouldcertainlyprovidehundredsoflocallaborerswithgoodpayingjobs,anditwould
certainlysolveagreatneedregardingsupplyingourelectricity,itseemsinconceivabletomethatTHOUSANDSoftownsallovertheUSAwouldn't
immediatelystartsuchprogramsup.(Thereareover6,000townsintheUSwhichhavepopulationsgreaterthan5,000people,socertainly
10,000shouldeasilybeabletodecidewhetherornottobuildthissystemtoprovidetheirownelectricity.)Theonlyrealcomplicationhastodo
withthegreatweightofthetallconcretewallsandwhetherfoundationcaissonswouldneedtobemadetomakesurethatthewallsdidnotsettle
infollowingyears.Buteventhattechnologyislongknownandproven,soitwouldonlyaddsomeexpensetotheconstruction(butthereforealso
someadditionaljobs!)
Itseemstomethatifjust10,000smalltownseachdecidedtoSELFfinancethissystem,andthenafewmonthslaterhaveunlimitedfree
electricityforthosehomeowners,thatwouldbe12,000MegawattsofFREEelectricitythatwouldneveragainneedtouseupanyfossilfuels!That
happenstobeaboutthesameoutputofadozenveryexpensive(andpotentiallydangerous)nuclearpowerplants!
WhichwouldYOUwantinyourbackyard?(NIMBY???)
Construction
Eachofthesetwentywallswillweigharound3,000tons,sotheyneedtohaveagoodfooterandfoundation.Detailsofthatdependtremendously
onthetypeofsoil,itsmoisturecontent,anditsstructuralstrength,andsothefooterandfoundationmustbeEngineeredforeachsite
independently.
Thelocationofthosefootersaredeterminedbytheformulagivenabove,wherethewallsarerelativelystraightbuthaveaveryslightcurvature.
Theconcretewallsareintendedtohaverebarinsidethem,withthestandardrebarspacingforthatclimateregardingfreezing,thawing,
moistureandwindloads.
TheverytopofthewallscanbejoinedwithlightwideflangeHbeams,inordertostabilizetheverticalityofthewallsoverfutureyears.However,
thosebridgingbeamsshouldhaveprovisionregardingthermalexpansionandcontractionoftheirownlength,orelsetheywouldcontribute
towardcausingthewallstoveryslightlyrockbackandforthwiththeheatingandcoolingofdayandnight.Theproblemisnotsignificant,andthe
footerscantendtosimplyrockafewthousandthsofaninch,andthevalueofaddingthesebridgingbeamsseemsgreaterthanthatofleaving
thewallstosettleandpossiblytiltovercomingyears.
Thesewallsaredesignedtotaperfromatwofootthicknessatthegroundleveltolessthanaonefootthicknessatthetop.Thesedimensions
maycertainlybealterediflocalconditionssuggestdifferentEngineeringguidelines.
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Asalwayswithtallconcretestructures,onlyafewfeetofheightshouldbepouredbeforewaitingasuitabletimeforstrengthcuringtobegin.
Again,standardconcreteconstructionproceduresforthatclimateshouldbefollowed,unlessEngineeringsuggestssomevariance.
Miscellaneousnotes:
Astheairisfunneledintoanarrowerpath,itspeedsupanditalsoslightlyincreasesinatmosphericpressure.Thepressurechangeisveryminor,
whereeveniftheairwasmovingat65mphattheendoftheconcretewalls,thelocalpressurewillonlybeabout1/1400higherthannatural,
around0.02"higherinbarometricpressure.Thatdifferencehasnosafetyissuesandvirtuallynooperationalissuesthatareofmuchsignificance.
Airspeedneargroundlevelwouldbeless.
OK.Ifyoufollowedallofthis,thenyourealizethatitwouldbepossibletobuildasmallerversionofthissamekindofsystem,suchasforarural
farmhouse.Considerthissystemata1/5scale.Wallsof20feettall,withthefrontopeningof40feetwideandtheconcretewallsofaround80
feetlong.Eachsmallerconcretewallmayonlyweigharound100tonsandthereforemayonlyneedfairlyconventionalfoundationandfooter
provisions(tomakesurethattheweightofthewallswouldnotsinkorshiftorcrackinfutureyears.)Essentiallyaonefifthscalearrangement
couldprovidesignificantelectricproduction.Thewindwillnotbeasfastashighup,soonlymaybe11mphAVERAGEcouldbecountedon.Ifthe
windwardopeningswere40feetwideby20feettall,or800squarefeetofintakespace,andtheExponentialHornis80feetlong,weknowthat
onesuchstructurewouldencounteraround4,000AVERAGEwattsofwindpower.Atwentyfoottallrotorwhichisalsotwentyfeetindiameter
wouldrotate(knowingX=about1.0)aboutonerevolutionpersecond(59ft/secspeed/63feetcircumference)oraround60rpm(atthat
average10or11mphwind).IfweuseRankine'sformulas,wefindthattheforce(thrust)isaround190pounds.Atarotationrateofaround6.3
radianspersecond,thatisaround1200ftlb/second,whichisaround2.2horsepower.Thatisaround1650Wattsofmechanicalpower.Maybe
1200wattsofcontinuouselectricitymightbeproducedduringAVERAGEwinds(aslongastheycamefromtherightdirection!).Ifasetoften
seriesconnectedcarbatteriesisusedasthesourceof120voltDChouseelectricity,asisdiscussedinourSelfSufficiencypresentation,this
amountof(variable)outputfromthewindshouldprovideareliableandconsistent10amperesofrechargingcurrentforeachofthe10batteries
(12volts*10amps*10batteries=1200watts)alwaysbeabletokeepallthebatterieschargedup!Soevenifyoudecidetohaveanenormous
Christmasdisplaywiththousandsoflights,maybe3,000wattsforafeweveninghours,therewouldbenoproblembecausethewindsourced
systemshouldeasilyrechargeeverythingbythemorning.
Butsuchastructurewouldberatherlarge(20feettallandcoveringagroundareacomparabletoalargehouse)andfairlyexpensivetobuild
(200tonsofconcrete+),andwhetheritmakessenseforaparticular(rural)housemightbedebatable.ThissystemSCALESUPWELL,where
thelargerversionseemstoamortizefasterandperformbetter.
Giventhissmallersizestructure,creativepeoplemayfinddifferentconstructionprocedures.Onethatseemstohavepotentialisinusing
standardpolebarnconstruction.Suchasinstallingacurvedlineof11standardpolebarnposts,everyeightfeet.Thenstandardcorrugated
metalpolebarnsidingcanbenailedtothem,butwithoneimportantdifference.Normally,thecorrugationsarealignedvertical,butthatwould
causesevereturbulenceintheairmovements!SothecorrugationswouldhavetobeHORIZONTAL.Andthemetalsurfacemustbeonthe
INSIDEofthepoles,again,forsmootherairflows.Sotheoutsidewouldlookfairlyugly,unlessyouaddasecondentiresurfaceofthemetalto
hidetheposts.
KeepinmindthattheONLYtimethiswouldnotworkisifthewindiscomingfromsomedirectionfartherthanabout45degreesawayfromwhere
youdecidedtheprevailingdirectionis!
However,therecanevenbesolutionstothat!Itwouldbealotmorecomplicatedandtakeupmorespace,butimaginecreatingasetofsuch
ExponentialHornswhichwerefacingSouthwestandaSECONDsetofthemwhichwerefacingNorthwest.Isuspectthatthesimplestandleast
expensiveapproachwouldbetosimplybuildcompletelyindependentsystems,whereonlyoneofthemwouldsometimesbeoperatinginmaking
electricity.Butthepointwouldbetostillbeabletoproducegreatdealsofelectricityevenifthewindwascomingfromsomedifferentdirectionfor
afewhoursordays.Infact,ifenoughvacantlandwasavailabletobuildFOURcompletesystems,theycouldbefacedallfourdirections,sothat
atleastoneofthemwouldbeabletoproduceelectricityaslongastherewasanywindatall.Thefactthatthesystemsarefairlyinexpensiveto
build,andconstructionisrathertraditional,andtheelectricityproducedcanbesoldforgoodprofits,itmightevenmakesensethatatownmight
EVENTUALLYbuildfourlikethat.
Therearemanyothervariantsofwhatcouldbebuilt.Ichosereinforcedconcreteconstruction,becauseitisalreadyfamiliartomillionsofworkers,
itisnotveryexpensive,thematerialsareavailableinnearlyanyregion,andtheconstructionisverydurable.Butalternativeconstructionis
certainlypossible.Imagineusingwelldrillingequipmenttoboreaseriesof50footdeepholeseverytenfeetalongtheExponentialHornPlanline.
Thenaseriesofoildrillingpipesarelowereddownintothoseholesandscrewedtogetherinconventionalmethods,toresultinaseriesof100
foottallsturdyironpipeswhichareverysecurelymountedindeepsoil.Then,flatsheetsofmaterialcouldbeweldedtothosepolesorboltedto
them,toessentiallycreate"polebarn"construction.Onlytheone(interior)sideoftheExponentialHornneedstobesmooth,andtheouterside
couldprobablybeleftunfinished,exceptforappearancereasons.Corrugatedmaterialscannotbeusedforthis,astheycausetoomuch
turbulence,unlesspossiblythecorrugationswerehorizontal,withthewindmotion.
Therearealso(slight)potentialadvantagesinaddingaroofstructureoverthetopoftheExponentialHorn.Thisbecomesmoreimportantifa
smallerscalestructureisinvolved,forcomplexreasons.Theactualairpressureincreaseinthe(large)Hornasdescribedisveryminimal,and
littleairshouldbelostupwardifnoroofisadded.However,andespeciallyiftheExponentialHorntaperstoanevennarrowerendwidth,where
theairvelocitiesandlocalpressuresbecameevenhigher,theremightbevalueintrappingtheairintheHornintohavingtopushtheVAWT
paddleinordertoescape.Thatvariantslightlymodifiesthedesignconceptfrombeingavelocity/momentumsystemintoapressurebased
design,anditreducestheoverallefficiency.Bothcanworkfine.Therooflessversionseemseasier,cheaperandsimplertobuildandsoismy
preference.
AlocalEngineerneedstoexaminetheWeatherBureau'swindrecordstodeterminewhetheranadjustmentmightbeappropriate.Forexample,
inwesternKansas,windsaregenerallystrongandthesystemmightbebuiltwithfewerthantensegments.InsouthernGeorgia,windsare
generallylightandmorethantenmaybeappropriate.Thesystemhasimmenseflexibilityaboutsuchvariables.
Iinventedtheacousticimpedancematch,exponentialshroudfora(small)Savoniusmadefromanold55gallondrumaround1985butonlyfirst
actuallybuiltoneinearly1998.ThepresentationonthatdevicewasfirstplacedontheInternetinApril1998.Thislargerandmoresophisticated
communityversionwasEngineeredin2007basedontheearlierdevicesandexperimentalevidence,andthispresentationwasfirstplacedonthe
Internetshortlyafterward.
ForatowntohavepermissiontoinstallONEofthesesystems(includingtencomponentsections),aFeeof$100,000willberequired.However,
thisfeewillonlybecomepayableAFTERthesystemisactuallyproducingusableelectricity.Therefore,atownwouldnothavetoworryabout
havingtopayanyfeeunlesstheyalreadySAWactualperformanceinlinewiththecommentsofthispresentation.Inaddition,sincethesystemis
certaintoprovideatleast$700,000worthofsellableelectricityeveryyear,thepaymentforthatFeewillbeamortizedwithinthefirstcouple
monthsofoperation.
Ifthetownthenlaterdecidestoinstallasecondorthirdsystems,thesamearrangementwouldapply.
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Footnotes
RoofExplanation
ThesituationregardingapossibleroofisaneffectofSCALE.
Ibuiltasmallscalemodelofoneofthetenassemblies,at1/50scale.8feetlongahorn,withamouththatis4feetwideandtwofeettall.The
totalvolumeofairinsidethehornatanyinstantisabout40cubicfeet,andsinceabout13cubicfeetofairweighsonepound,thereareabout
THREEPOUNDSOFAIRinsidethehornatanytime.AroofISnecessaryforsuchascaleassembly,becausethreepoundsofaircaneasilyget
redirectedupward,whichwouldavoidhavingtopassthroughtherotor.
ButthescaleofthehornthatIEngineeredforthissystemis50timeslonger,50timeswiderand50timestaller,sothatitcontains125,000times
asmuchairasthescalemodel.Thismeansthattherearearoundfivemillioncubicfeetofair,weighing375,000poundsofair,insidethehornat
alltimes!
Thescaleissuchthat,inorderforthatairtoavoidhavingtopassthroughtherotor,animmenseamountofforceandworkwouldbenecessary
tocause375,000poundsofairtoallmoveupwardby100verticalfeet!Yes,asmallfractionDOESgetlostupwardduetothelackofaroof,but
Engineeringcalculationsshowthatitisarathersmallfraction.Thecostofbuildingaverylargeroofforeachofthetenhornswouldnever
amortizethemselvesevenovermanyyears.Butanytownisfreetobuildsuchroofsiftheywish!
IDOrecommendthatatleastthreeTRUSSESbemountedatoptheconcretewalls(nearthefront,nearthemiddleandneartherear)tofixthe
spacingbetweentheconcretewalls.Asthefoundationssettleovermanyyears,thewallscannotbeallowedtoevertilt.Threetrussesshouldbe
sufficienttomaintaintheircorrectpositionandorientation.
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ThispageTowerWindmillsandElectricity,ModestEfficiencyisathttp://mbsoft.com/public/wind7.html
Thissubjectpresentationwaslastupdatedon08/07/201510:15:38
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