Oh yes, this is just some guys weekend project with a simulator. If I wanted to make the optimal wind turbine, I'd add some random noise in the simulator to acc

Oh yes, this is just some guys weekend project with a simulator. If I wanted to make the optimal wind turbine, I'd add some random noise in the simulator to account for imperfection in the simulation, and do lots of real world tests. Also I'd allow the GA to change more than just a radial shape. But all that adds difficulty and expense. In fact I've thought about what the optimal way to do real world experiments is. Assuming you want to minimize them as much as possible, if making real prototypes is expensive. I think you could use machine learning on the results of real world experiments to invent a model. It would predict how well each design would do. Then you could optimize the design to the machine learned model. Which of course won't be very accurate. But then it will give you a new test to do in the real world, which will give you data to make it even more accurate.