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A few days ago there was already another article here about new wind tech, I could repeat my comment [1]. tl;dr looking at historic patterns I've seen many new

by hannob 7y ago

A few days ago there was already another article here about new wind tech, I could repeat my comment [1]. tl;dr looking at historic patterns I've seen many new forms of wind energy, they all didn't make it. What stays successful is doing almost the same thing more efficient and at larger scale. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20895000 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20895000

realusername 7y ago
> tl;dr looking at historic patterns I've seen many new forms of wind energy, they all didn't make it. What stays successful is doing almost the same thing more efficient and at larger scale. This is the main reason: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betz%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betz%27s_law. Wind turbines are already very close to max efficiency, the only thing you can do is make them bigger and cheaper.
- barking 7y ago
  I don't like them, where I live we had a view like something from the sound of music and now we have 8 turbines in the foreground. Also they are visible from so far away that they have diminished the perceived scale of the landscape.
- einpoklum 7y ago
  Betz' law is not a restriction. The challenge isn't extraction of more of the energy. The challenges are: * Production cost $ * Production cost in terms of resources (e.g. renewable organic materials vs metal, rare earth etc.) * Maintenance $ * Complexity of maintenance * Necessary area / turbine * Necessary area / turbine * Necessary volume / turbine * Noise level * Usability in extreme environmental conditions ... and maybe other things I've missed.
  - realusername 7y ago
    That's still a big restriction, other technologies could have a breakthrough which makes them 10x more efficient, this will never happen with wind turbines.
    - einpoklum 7y ago
      We're talking about harnessing wind power. There is no "10x more efficient".
zeristor 7y ago
The present incumbent technology has matured and been researched over a few decades. Like evolution new technologies could possibly thrive in a niche area to some level of maturity, however that would appear unlikely. There appears to be a certain amount of scepticism as to how this design can convert the vibration into electricity.

by hannob 7y ago

realusername 7y ago

> tl;dr looking at historic patterns I've seen many new forms of wind energy, they all didn't make it. What stays successful is doing almost the same thing more efficient and at larger scale. This is the main reason: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betz%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betz%27s_law. Wind turbines are already very close to max efficiency, the only thing you can do is make them bigger and cheaper.

barking 7y ago
I don't like them, where I live we had a view like something from the sound of music and now we have 8 turbines in the foreground. Also they are visible from so far away that they have diminished the perceived scale of the landscape.
einpoklum 7y ago
Betz' law is not a restriction. The challenge isn't extraction of more of the energy. The challenges are: * Production cost $ * Production cost in terms of resources (e.g. renewable organic materials vs metal, rare earth etc.) * Maintenance $ * Complexity of maintenance * Necessary area / turbine * Necessary area / turbine * Necessary volume / turbine * Noise level * Usability in extreme environmental conditions ... and maybe other things I've missed.
- realusername 7y ago
  That's still a big restriction, other technologies could have a breakthrough which makes them 10x more efficient, this will never happen with wind turbines.
  - einpoklum 7y ago
    We're talking about harnessing wind power. There is no "10x more efficient".

zeristor 7y ago

The present incumbent technology has matured and been researched over a few decades. Like evolution new technologies could possibly thrive in a niche area to some level of maturity, however that would appear unlikely. There appears to be a certain amount of scepticism as to how this design can convert the vibration into electricity.