High-altitude Wind For Power Purposes
Winds at higher altitudes become steadier, more persistent, and of higher velocity. Because power available in wind increases as the cube of velocity (the velocity-cubed law), assuming other parameters remaining the same, doubling a wind's velocity gives 2x2x2=8 times the power; tripling the velocity gives 3x3x3=27 times the available power. With steadier and more predictable winds, high-altitude wind has an advantage over wind near the ground. Being able to locate HAWP to effective altitudes and using the vertical dimension of airspace for wind farming brings further advantage using high-altitude winds for generating energy.
High-altitude wind generators can be adjusted in height and position to maximize energy return, which is impractical with fixed tower-mounted wind generators.
In each range of altitudes there are altitude-specific concerns being addressed by researchers and developers. As altitude increases, tethers increase in length, the temperature of the air changes, and vulnerability to atmospheric lightning changes. With increasing altitude, exposure to liabilities increase, costs increase, turbulence exposure changes, likelihood of having the system fly in more than one directional strata of winds increases, and the costs of operation changes. HAWP systems that are flown must climb through all intermediate altitudes up to final working altitudes—being at first a low- and then a high- altitude device.
Read more about this topic: High-altitude Wind Power
Famous quotes containing the words wind, power and/or purposes:
“Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads, The wind is passing by.”
—Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830–1894)
“There is a Restlessness springing from the consciousness of power not fully utilized, which must be present wherever there is unused power of whatever kind. This is the restlessness of the germ within the seed, struggling upward and downward towards its proper life. ... it is a striving full of pain, the cutting of tender flesh by the fetters of the captive as he struggles against their pitilessness.”
—Anna C. Brackett (1836–1911)
“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. And also the only real tragedy in life is being used by personally minded men for purposes which you recognize to be base.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)