A surprising aerodynamic innovation in wind turbine design called the 'wind lens' could triple the output of a typical wind turbine, making it less costly than nuclear power.
Snapshot from video
NOTE: Some major wind projects like the proposed TWE Carbon Valley project
in Wyoming are already pricing in significantly lower than coal power
-- $80 per MWh for wind versus $90 per MWh for coal -- and that is
without government subsidies using today's wind turbine technology.
The International Clean Energy Analysis (ICEA) gateway estimates
that the U.S. possesses 2.2 million km2 of high wind potential (Class
3-7 winds) — about 850,000 square miles of land that could yield high
levels of wind energy. This makes the U.S. something of a Saudi Arabia
for wind energy, ranked third in the world for total wind energy
potential.
Let's say we developed just 20 percent of those wind resources —
170,000 square miles (440,000 km2) or an area roughly 1/4 the size of
Alaska — we could produce a whopping 8.7 billion megawatt hours of
electricity each year (based on a theoretical conversion of six 1.5 MW
turbines per km2 and an average output of 25 percent. (1.5 MW x 365 days
x 24 hrs x 25% = 3,285 MWh's).
The United States uses about 26.6 billion MWh's, so at the above rate
we could satisfy a full one-third of our total annual energy needs. (Of
course, this assumes the concurrent deployment of a nationwide Smart Grid that could store and disburse the variable sources of wind power as needed using a variety of technologies — gas or coal peaking, utility scale storage via batteries or fly-wheels, etc).
Now what if a breakthrough came along that potentially tripled
the energy output of those turbines? You see where I'm going. We could
in theory supply the TOTAL annual energy needs of the U.S. simply by
exploiting 20 percent of our available wind resources.
Well, such a breakthrough has been made, and it's called the "wind lens."
Imagine: no more dirty coal power, no more mining deaths, no more nuclear disasters, no more polluted aquifers as a result of fracking.
Our entire society powered by the quiet "woosh" of a wind
turbine. Kyushu University's wind lens turbine is one example of the
many innovations happening right now that could in the near future make
this utopian vision a reality.
Yes, it's a heck of a lot of wind turbines (about 2,640,000) but the
U.S. with its endless miles of prairie and agricultural land is one of
the few nations that could actually deploy such a network of wind
turbines without disrupting the current productivity of the land (Russia
and China also come to mind). It would also be a win-win for states in
the highest wind area — the Midwest — which has been hard hit by the
recession. And think of the millions upon millions of jobs that would be
created building a 21st century energy distribution system free of the
shackles of ever-diminishing fossil fuel supplies.
It's also important to point out that growth in wind power capacity is perfectly symbiotic with projected growth in electric vehicles.
EV battery packs can soak up wind power produced during the night,
helping to equalize the curve of daytime energy demand. So the
controversial investment currently being entertained by President Obama
to pipe oil down from the Canadian Tar Sands would — in my utopian
vision — be a moot point.
It is indeed a lofty vision, but the technology we need is now in our
reach. And think of the benefits of having our power production fed by a
resource that is both free and unlimited. One downside often cited by
advocates of coal and gas power is that wind turbines require a lot more
maintenence than a typical coal or gas power plant. But in a lagging
economy this might just be wind power's biggest upside — it will create
lots and lots of permanent jobs, sparking a new cycle of economic growth
in America.
