IS A BIGGER WIND TURBINE BETTER?
WIND RECOVERY EXPLAINED
Have you ever stuck your hand out of a moving car window, and felt the force of the wind against your palm? Now imagine if you placed your hand against the mirror and slowly started moving it straight back away from the mirror. How far back would you have to move your hand until you could feel the full force of the wind again? This distance from the hand to the mirror illustrates the basic concept of WIND RECOVERY.
HOW DOES WIND RECOVERY IMPACT WIND FARMS USING PRESENT TECHNOLOGY?
The simple answer is; the larger the Wind Turbine, the more space is required to achieve 100% wind recovery. Regardless of how small or large the current Wind Turbine technology is, the relationship between the size of the Wind Turbine’s diameter (rotor) and the distance required for wind recovery remain unchanged (5 to 10 times the blades diameter).
SO IS BIGGER BETTER OR JUST BIGGER?
The impact of wind recovery plays a vital role in answering this question. However, let’s dive a bit deeper by understanding a Wind Turbine’s power rating, quest for efficiency, and watts per acre (land utilization). Then you can be the judge.
Wind Turbine Power Rating
Most Wind Turbines are rated in Mega Watts at 30 mph wind speeds. This is the maximum
wattage output. Beyond 30 mph the Wind Turbine becomes flat rated; and additional increases in wind speed are lost. In order to protect the Wind Turbine from over stress (structure, blades and torque), it has a maximum wind speed rating whereby it shuts down and produces Zero Power. The cutout speed is often as low as 50 mph and the cut-back-in speed can be around 40 mph. If high winds are forecasted for the area, the Wind Turbine may be
Even though there has been an increase in Wind Turbine size and Mega Watt rating; there has been little or no improvement in land or wind utilization. Regardless of Wind Turbine size, land utilization is primarily limited by the impact of wind
recovery spacing windmill to windmill.
WHAT IF NO SPACE WAS REQUIRED FOR THE WIND TO RECOVER?
Imagine the watts per acre, total power, efficiencies, and impact on outcomes. We are talking about beyond 10x the power within the same land space that today wind turbines produces 20 Kilo Watts per acre.
After eight years of research, this novel concept is ARRIVING AND ITS NAME IS 3D WIND POWER.
3D Wind Technology has a future path of greater than 1 Mega Watt per acre!
So, is bigger better or just bigger? Each entity may see the answer differently; however . the impact of doubling today’s Wind Turbine size produces little or no change in Watts per acre.
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George A. Spencer Athens, Texas Home Town: Vian, Oklahoma georges@3dwtx.com george@Zlan.com Call: 512 417 4674 |
