Why is it so difficult to design a workable AWES for electricity generation?

Analysis Industry and Market Analysis
1

There is a problem of perspective.

In the traditional wind industry, there is one main sector that accounts for the largest share of the onshore and offshore market: horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs). A marginal addition is provided with vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs). And that is it.

Regarding AWES, as it is a technology that is not yet operational, the number of potential methods far exceeds that of conventional wind turbines.

If we take the example of a rope-drive transmission (such as the “Kiwee” type) versus a conventional onboard wind turbine, we could compare two categories which look similar, even though they could correspond to the HAWTs and VAWTs from conventional wind turbines.

In fact, there could be just as many differences between AWES with rope-drive transmission and AWES with conventional onboard wind turbines as there are between conventional HAWTs and VAWTs. And there are many other categories and subcategories of AWES.

In conventional wind energy, you are not looking for the prevailing method, since you are there with HAWT. The work is already largely marked out.

In AWE, you must try to find something workable in a multitude of methods, none of which are truly proven, and none of which are truly refuted, while knowing that AWES (for electricity generation) can also constitute a dead end in the short and medium term.

We therefore arrive at a double pitfall: we try to explore a method in depth, without really knowing if it can succeed; or we flit between numerous methods without really managing to distinguish the potential advantages and the potentially prohibitive flaws.

2

In the traditional wind industry, there is one main sector that accounts for the largest share of the onshore and offshore market: horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs). A marginal addition is provided with vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs). And that is it.

Hi Pierre: The above statement reflects the delusionary nature of wannabe-wind energy, which has been in place since long before AWE reared its questionable head. I would have to say, by this point, vertical-axis windmills have disproven themselves by self-destruction, to the point that they contribute basically zero percent of total electricity generated by wind.

Sure, you’ll still find plenty being sold on Ebay, mostly plastic toys with output levels exaggerated by orders of magnitude. The number actually running and producing useful amounts of power are very few, very small, with short lifespans and negligible output. The few large ones you occasionally hear about, often from Eastern European countries, tend to run for less than a year before breaking down and being abandoned. The last time I heard from Peter Sharp, an established wind inventor and otherwise very bright guy, he was still chasing after ways to “rescue” the Darrieus-type verticals. You can’t talk common sense into these people.

A turbine:

  1. requiring maybe 6x the material,

  2. with blades required to sweep 3.14x the intercepted area,

  3. oriented perpendicular to centrifugal force,

  4. and never making constant power,

  5. with relative wind forces reversing twice with every rotation.

  6. at only 2/3 the TSR,

  7. requiring still more blade material for a wider chord,

  8. which also gives less efficiency,

  9. and a vertical generator which needs thrust bearings that wear out faster,

can never compete with a regular old HAWT.

There, now did you see that? Where have you ever seen anyone explain 9 overwhelming reasons the verticals are a bad idea, in a single sentence?

Do you think your average PhD professor advocating Darrieus turbines is even aware of this list? And that’s just off the top of my head!

How many times have we read that vertical-axis turbines are the best choice for “urban environments”? Is it even true? or is it false information? What urban environment in the world features lots of vertical-axis turbines today? Its nothing but an empty talking point!!!

This is an example of why wannabe wind energy equates to The La Brea Tar Pits, drawing in mammals (in this case, ground-dwelling primates) who misunderstand the nature of the challenging fluid environment they choose to “advance” into. So here are the “advanced” kite networks, and the “Rapid” AWE development! Still “getting ready to get ready”. :slight_smile:

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