I’ve been in touch with the fellow in Italy I mentioned earlier on my piece about high-altitude wind power, in which I expressed concern that the levelized cost of energy for his concept (KiteGen) wouldn’t be competitive with other energy …
Category: Wind Energy
Take a COOL Guess – the Fun Quiz on Clean Energy. Today’s Topic: Efficiency in Wind Turbines
Question: In physics, the Betz Limit is the top theoretic percentage of kinetic energy that can be extracted from a moving fluid, e.g., wind. It’s based on the fact that, if you took it all, i.e., stopped the wind dead, …
HAWP – High-Altitude Wind Power
We don’t hear as much about high-altitude wind as we did a few years ago, though the subject has not completely disappeared. There is no doubt that the wind resources a thousand feet or so above the Earth’s surface are …
Inc. Magazine Picks Up On Small Wind Rising Star "WindStream"
Here’s an article from the online version of Inc. Magazine written by a young man who somehow picked three cleantech companies and heralded them as “the hottest on the planet.” I came across this because one of them happened to …
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Don’t Envy the Developers of Every Large Solar and Wind Project
I often lament that I’m never financially involved in the multi-billion solar and wind projects. Generally, each one happens with its own inner sanctum of bankers and lawyers. It’s hard not to envy them, though, as I add no value …
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More on Vertical Axis Turbines in "Small Wind"
I wanted to make another comment or two on this idea in small wind: a set of small, vertical-axis turbines that are designed to look something like a tree. It’s interesting to note that people seem to get their panties …
Small Wind Power – An Artistic Stab
Here’s a cute idea in small wind: a set of small, vertical-axis turbines that are designed to look something like a tree. It’s hard to object to an idea like this—except when its creators make wild claims: Claim: It’s quiet …
The Role of Nuclear and Renewable Energy: Further Discussion
Here’s a conversation that I thought readers may enjoy: Craig: (Writing to a reader who claims that wind and solar would require all the lands in PA, OH, and VA in order to achieve 99.9% reliability.) No one advocates using wind …
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More Conversation with the Pro-Nuke, Anti-Wind People: It’s Not a Particularly Intelligent Discussion, But At Least It’s Short
Another fellow from the pro-nuclear energy group writes more on his “anti-wind” viewpoints: I crunched a lot of numbers relating to the Budischak & Kempton 2013 study of cost minimization using wind, solar and storage technologies, which study was well …
More on Wind’s Energy Return on Energy Investment
In response to my post on wind’s energy return on energy investment (EROI), the same reader writes: I am very, very skeptical about numbers you quoted for wind (15:1 to 30:1). Lots of really bright people are wrong about …
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