The other problem is maintenance. The government funded windmills are largely laying fallow as the grants covered the windmill but not the maintenance. The power generated must not be of much value. Will this happen to these, too?
Can we assume that statement is twice the power of an equally sized turbine?
The GE 1.5MW turbine has a nacelle / blade assembly weight of 92 tons. Let's say the weight can be cut in half because the power is double at altitude. Call it a nice round 40 tons for discussion sake.
The Air Force has an aerostat based radar system. The aerostat is 186 feet long, 62 feet diameter, and lifts 2200 pounds.
Mr. Glass stated the system would be good for remote sites, and that makes a good deal of sense. Places that need a reasonably portable power source will probably not need a megawatt of power.
But he also implied this system could replace conventional tower turbines. I don't see that; something with the lift capacity of 40 aerostats would be necessary.
Helium is also a non-renewable resource; its price has steadily climbed.
Good questions, Rob. It's described as fully automated and for remote locations. That sounds like it doesn't need a babysitter, although obviously it would need occasional maintenance checks. As far as a rooftop, I don't know--this is a scaled prototype and not full size, so I guess it depends on the size and height of the roof.
This is very impressive, Ann. Do you know if it needs a babysitter on the ground? Or is it fully automatic? I would imagine this would probably have to be situated in rural areas. But who knows. Maybe it could be situated on a rooftop in Manhattan.
By experimenting with the photovoltaic reaction in solar cells, researchers at MIT have made a breakthrough in energy efficiency that significantly pushes the boundaries of current commercial cells on the market.
In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem: Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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