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re: wind generation questions
31 jan 2001
james w. swonger wrote:
> here are some key differences between a windmill and the consumer ics
>upon which you predicate your argument:
>(1) fails to follow the shrinking-feature-size, increasing functionality
>per volume dynamic which moore's "law" expresses. this has been mentioned.
it seems to me that some shrinking is possible, but there are limits
that don't apply to ics.
>(4) geometric increase in wind generation requires geometric increase
>in swept area...
perhaps the swept area (air :-) can increase faster than the blade area
(the weight of the steel blades, etc.) if the blades are basically in
tension, with no slenderness ratio limit, they can become longer without
becoming much heavier.
>i do not observe semiconductor-style price decreases in gearboxes,
>alternators/motors, towers/scaffolding, or land...
or labor.
nick
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