I used to pepper these forums with the phrase “idiots, idiots, idiots”.
Of course this was not well-received in many circles, but I thought I’d take a moment to explain here.
First, I don’t really think too many involved are actually idiots. The terminology is just shorthand in wind energy for saying they haven’t done much background investigation and are pursuing a wrong idea.
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Idiots 1) In wiind energy, we typically call EVERYONE who thinks they have a new, improved, basic kind of wind energy device as “idiots” because they don’t appreciate that so many alternatives have already been tried and failed, whereas the simple propeller-style turbine is ALREADY reduced to its bare essence - already simplified and optimized, possibly to the maximum extent possible. The wannabe improvers have no clue of any of this and just think some offbeat method that occurs to their untrained mind will suddenly eclipse thousands of years of refinement. Also, these people typically have no concept of a real, industrial-class wind resource, how necessary and how powerful and destructive it is, so they make little cardboard models on backyard stands to barely spin when some lucky bit of breeze is able to reach down to ground level among buildings and think it is relevant.
So idiots 1 = not appreciating the magnitude of the challenge, including the brutality of the wind, the existing level of progress (perfection?), and the difficulty (unliklihood?) (hopelessness?) of the challenge to improve on it.
Idiots 2) Once “idiots 1” is in place, the next step is to think the way around their bad choice of a target concept will be to see how much money they can raise, how many employees, interns, professors, technicians they can hire, what facilities and buildings they can rent, as though all of that misdirection of other peoples’ financial resources can solve the basic problem that they don’t know what they’re doing in the first place.
Idiots 3) This is where no matter how simple wind energy already is, the “team” will suffer from an inability to grasp any existing knowledge from wind energy. Examples are coming in with statements of “beating the Betz coefficient”, misusing or misapplying existing terminology, and just generally ignoring the basic principles of wind energy, often going back to not appreciating aspects well-understood thousands of years ago. I’m trying to stick with three (3) “idiots”, so I will fit this one in here: No personnel experienced in real wind energy being directly involved, should be a big red flag, but this obvious vacuum of proven results and lack of familiarity with the art of wind energy often goes unnoticed and unappreciated. Think of any cutting-edge technology that doesn’t include anyone from the existing industry…
The misuse of the term “drag” to describe a Makani device, would be an example of number 3, where the terms “lift” and “drag” regarding the principle of operation were already in common use for wind energy as the most fundamental category, somewhat opposite in meaning to that wished to be applied by AWE people. Kind of like what they say about a game of poker - “if you don’t know who the mark is, it is you.”. The perpetual parade of new people insisting they have the big breakthrough are easy to identify, and stick out like a sore thumb. Why, just the other day, I had a friend with a new house, with some solar already installed, explaining to me how he is looking into wind energy - mentioning vertical-axis machines for sale on Ebay. What can you say? The ads are just lies and the frail plastic machines would be unable to make almost any power at all, and would be destroyed in even a decent wind
Not that I don’t have my own favorite collection of whacky wind energy ideas, some better than others, but I also have enough of one foot in real wind energy to know what I’m getting into, and to somewhat know what I’m doing.
Also, the experience (school of hard knocks) of building and running real wind energy devices makes me less likely to fall for other dubious schemes smacking of “green”, and hopefully clean, whether it is a windmill or another vaporware air-taxi.
So anyway, it’s not that I really think anyone is an idiot, just relaying some (hopefully-amusing) sarcasm from the world of experienced wind energy people.