From: Mark Walker (mdwalker@quickclic.net)
Date: Thu Oct 25 2001 - 09:14:39 MDT
I have an alternate design for you. The basic idea is to use a sail to focus
the wind energy. In an urban setting this might be done by stringing the
sail up between buildings and cutting a hole in the sail for the turbine. In
a rural setting the same could be accomplished by erecting several masts and
string the sail across. To capture the wind from any direction we could form
a cross with the sails: one set up running North to South, the other East to
West with the turbine in the center. When the wind gets too strong we simply
reef the sails maties. In good extropian fashion let me recommend a sail
that is a kilometer high and runs around the earth, North to South and East
to West. That should take care of our energy needs for a while. More
realistically, it would be interesting to see feasibility studies for
wind-farms based on the sail idea. It should be possible to greatly reduce
the number of turbines and towers erected.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Douglass" <bill_douglass@onebox.com>
To: <extropians@extropy.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2001 10:33 PM
Subject: Re: NEED INFO: post on wind turbine-powered buildings
> Miriam English emailed me with the link and original post by Barbara
> Lamar. It follows. Thanks Miriam!
>
> -----------
>
> On the subject of weaning from using oil as fuel ...
> Worth taking a look for the pictures alone.
>
> Barbara
>
> =============================
> http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991292
>
> Buildings with integrated wind turbines could generate at least 20
> percent
> of their own energy needs, and perhaps all. They would be more power
> efficient than ordinary wind farms or solar powered constructions, say
>
> UK
> researchers.
>
> A team of aerodynamics engineers at the Rutherford Appleton
> Laboratory's
> Energy Research Unit, Oxfordshire, UK, has come up with a design for
> a
> multi-tower office building or block of flats with wind turbines fitted
>
> in
> between.
>
> Curved towers would funnel wind towards the turbines and improve
> efficiency,
> they say. Preliminary testing on an seven-metre prototype indicates
> that the
> design could be twice as efficient as a stand-alone wind power
> generator,
> despite the fact that it does not move to face the wind. Wind speeds
> in
> urban areas are typically about two thirds of those in rural areas, so
>
> the
> extra efficiency is vital, says the team.
> etc.
> --------------
>
>
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