From what I know, investors want both. Because the “countless publications” were all based on countless assumptions that we more and more have to question. Only with validated wind resource data and validated energy harvesting models, that can also be used to simulate scaled-up AWE systems, we can make meaningful predictions. I must say that I have not seen this yet in literature. Individually, yes, but not in combination. There is still a lot of research to be done.
And that does not mean that we do not need prototypes that reliably work for extended times. We also need those, yet, we must rely here more on the companies because academic research groups can certainly not develop such systems.
The questions here are perfect for the upcoming AWEC in Milan. Please join and ask the experts in the panel discussions. Download the final program (27-05-2021) from here.