In reply to Jones Beene's message of Fri, 16 Jun 2006 10:57:08 -0700: Hi, [snip] >AFAIK most of the R&D for wind-energy is going into slight >improvements in the turbine design, and almost zero into any other >competing promising concepts. Even the promising vertical-axis >mill is getting almost nothing from DoE (some privately) and yet >the Feds will end-up committing billions in either grants or >tax-incentives to a "possibly" inferior design, since they have >failed to do their homework in the lab. > >Jones
This is a good summary of affairs, not just in the wind industry, but the entire energy sector in general. *All* the "long shots" should be investigated by competent labs, on the off chance that there is something to them. This includes magic magnet motors etc. Many experiments could be done for no more than a few grand each. While the chances of any one paying off may be small, the chance that at least one would be worth while are reasonable. IOW the down side is relatively small, while the upside potential is mind boggling. This is precisely the sort of research that government should support, iso putting all it's eggs in one basket with ITER. After an initial first elimination round a reduced number of potentially promising technologies might remain, which could then receive further funding to determine definitively whether or not they might be interesting. BTW I consider CF to have already achieved this second tier status. This approach allows nature to determine the path to be followed, rather than human prejudice. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://users.bigpond.net.au/rvanspaa/ Competition provides the motivation, Cooperation provides the means.
