To rephrase; There is no point in increasing a HAWT TSR because (in my current understanding) you are hitting the Betz limit, so increasing efficiency will not yield more power. To run at a higher TSR also means running a larger radius…
For AWE we can easily increase radius. But it doesnt make sense unless we are still approaching the Betz limit. That just leaves us with a large swept area and a very low C_p power coefficient.
Next, you may say that for a really large HAWT, the AWE with a glide ratio matching the HAWT TSR will at least initially move at the same speed in the same winds. This would favor the AWE rig as the HAWT sweeps a lot of area at a low speed relative to the wind, near the hub.
Anyways, maybe that explains my initial post a little bit