Wind power rules, small wind pwr, not so much...

[boostjuice]

In brief -http://www.dyesol.com/page/Technology
In detail - http://www.dyesol.com/index.php?element=PVWorldOnFinalStraight.pdf
.....fingers crossed

 

[John in CR]

In brief -http://www.dyesol.com/page/Technology
In detail - http://www.dyesol.com/index.php?element=PVWorldOnFinalStraight.pdf
.....fingers crossed

They have a very long way to go talking about 2 Euros/watt and 3-5 year life for organic PV cells. Brand spanking 17% efficient new PV cells are available on Ebay for under 50cents/watt including diodes and soldering supplies.

 

[MitchJi]

Hi,

The Economist has an interesting article about two different proposals to harvest wind energy from the jet stream (elevation: 10km).

:

Wubbo Ockels of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has been developing another approach to airborne wind generation at lower altitude, with backing from Royal Dutch Shell and Nederlandse Gasunie, a natural-gas company. Dr Ockels’s idea is that a kite (without rotor blades) be launched from a ground station, turning a generator as it rises to an altitude of several hundred metres. When it reaches its full height, it alters its shape to catch less wind, and can thus be reeled back in using much less power than it produced when it was being paid out.

An arrangement of two or more of these kites could act together to produce a steady supply of power. When one kite was being released, part of the electricity produced would reel the other kite back in, and vice versa. The whole system would thus remain in surplus, and if well designed could deliver a constant current. This system has the advantage that it requires only simple parts—generators, kites and cables—and should thus be much cheaper to build than a conventional turbine.

[youtube]rWvKvFlZIgQ[/youtube]
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Wind:Ladder_Mills

The Laddermill is a high altitude wind power design which consists of a series of wings or kites all connected to the ground via cable, forming a huge rotating loop.

After extensive 3D modelling, the system was successfully tested on Aug. 29, 2007.

Once commercialized, the system is expected to generate electricity at around 5 cents per kilowat-hour, with costs spread over 4-5 years; which is competative with the cheaper conventional utility scale electricity costs.

"At the moment we are the only developers who have managed to succeed in this concept, although other groups are also testing it in Italy and Australia" -- Dr Wubbo Ockels (Aug. 29, 2007)

The above radio controlled kite was flown on Aug. 29, 2007 in northern Europe as part of a "ladder-mill" set of such kites, creating 10.5 kilowatts of electricity

And Sky WindPower:

A San Diego, CA company called Sky WindPower wants to send giant kite-turbines into the jet stream to generate power.

Mr Shepard’s flying generator looks like a cross between a kite and a helicopter. It has four rotors at the points of an H-shaped frame that is tethered to the ground by a long cable. The rotors act like the surface of a kite, providing the lift needed to keep the platform in the air. As they do so, they also turn dynamos that generate electricity. This power is transmitted to the ground through aluminum cables. Should there be a lull in the wind, the dynamos can be used in reverse as electric motors, to keep the generator airborne.

http://www.skywindpower.com/ww/index.htm

The energy in the high altitude winds is far more than enough to meet the world's energy needs, and means of capturing this energy are available through a little further development of technologies that do not require any fundamental scientific breakthroughs.

TIME Magazine named Sky WindPower's flying electric generator one of the 50 top inventions of 2008. It is item #35 on their list as Airborne Wind Power and is shown in a simulation near the beginning of TIME's video. Two alternative links may be found on our Links page.