

Researchers estimate there's potential for 1,800 TW of wind power






Simulation climate



Sources: Nature Climate Change, Eurekalert

Comments     Threshold


By EricMartello on 9/13/2012 6:52:37 PM , Rating: 2
Including heating elements within the balloon material was well as the rotors and turbine housing would add a lot of weight and complexity. It would address this potential problem by increasing the likelihood that frequent maintenance would be necessary.

I don't think wind power is conducive to the central power generation and distribution model we currently use. It works better with smaller turbines providing supplemental power rather than being a primary source.

One idea that I was thinking might be worth trying is to use a stirling engine to supplement electricity generation of places that emit high amounts of heat as a by-product, such as a computer data center. Stirling engines work based on a temperature differential, so they could use the heat expelled by the HVAC system and convert some of the heat back into electricity.

