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If you look at the actual study[1] it's not just vertical turbines but also their formation [2]that (could) increase efficacy of large-scale wind farms. [1] ht

If you look at the actual study[1] it's not just vertical turbines but also their formation [2]that (could) increase efficacy of large-scale wind farms. [1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096014812100344X?via%3Dihub https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096014812... [2] https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S096014812100344X-ga1_lrg.jpg https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S09601481210034...

scythe 5y ago
>For the configurations analysed, pairs of VAWTs exhibited a 15% increase in power output compared to operating in isolation, when the second rotor was spaced three turbine diameters downstream and at an angle of 60° to the wind direction. This seems like a major limitation of the finding. The wind direction is variable. If your clever idea only works when the wind is blowing exactly west, it's not so clever.
- dylan604 5y ago
  But in areas where the wind farms are built, isn't one of the deciding factors that the wind primarialy blows in one direction? Similar to airports and how they decide which way to build their runways. LAX doesn't even have North/South runways because of this.
  - bluGill 5y ago
    Wind is rarely exactly in one direction. A constant west wind isn't always directly 270 degrees, there is a large plus/minus factor in that.
- mhandley 5y ago
  From figure 6 in the paper, it looks like you get the win for anything from 30 degrees angle upwards. But with 0 degrees angle, the turbines seem to interfere, and you get something like 50% loss. So with a westerly prevailing wind (from 270 degrees), you'd likely put the turbines in rows at 210 or 330 degrees. If you used 210 degrees, and the wind comes from 210 degrees, you lose. Almost all the rest of the time you win. With some simple analysis of historic wind directions, you ought to be able to choose the angle to maximize net output by putting the inefficient angle in a direction that is relatively uncommon.
olau 5y ago
The vertical turbines are not more efficient in themselves. In fact, they are less efficient. The paper does not claim that they are more efficient overall in a farm configuration either, just that they somehow seem to get a positive effect when placed in a (very small) farm.

scythe 5y ago

>For the configurations analysed, pairs of VAWTs exhibited a 15% increase in power output compared to operating in isolation, when the second rotor was spaced three turbine diameters downstream and at an angle of 60° to the wind direction. This seems like a major limitation of the finding. The wind direction is variable. If your clever idea only works when the wind is blowing exactly west, it's not so clever.

dylan604 5y ago
But in areas where the wind farms are built, isn't one of the deciding factors that the wind primarialy blows in one direction? Similar to airports and how they decide which way to build their runways. LAX doesn't even have North/South runways because of this.
- bluGill 5y ago
  Wind is rarely exactly in one direction. A constant west wind isn't always directly 270 degrees, there is a large plus/minus factor in that.
mhandley 5y ago
From figure 6 in the paper, it looks like you get the win for anything from 30 degrees angle upwards. But with 0 degrees angle, the turbines seem to interfere, and you get something like 50% loss. So with a westerly prevailing wind (from 270 degrees), you'd likely put the turbines in rows at 210 or 330 degrees. If you used 210 degrees, and the wind comes from 210 degrees, you lose. Almost all the rest of the time you win. With some simple analysis of historic wind directions, you ought to be able to choose the angle to maximize net output by putting the inefficient angle in a direction that is relatively uncommon.

olau 5y ago

The vertical turbines are not more efficient in themselves. In fact, they are less efficient. The paper does not claim that they are more efficient overall in a farm configuration either, just that they somehow seem to get a positive effect when placed in a (very small) farm.