Mike Carrell wrote: > This is not simple. You have to capture the maximum energy from the wind > at all speeds. For the pump, it is also a matter of torque as well as > strokes/second. In principle, if the wind speed is low, you can gear down > the propellor shaft and get enough torque to compress the gas. There are > variable ratio transmissions, but these are quite inefficient. With an > electric generator and the right electronics there are various tricks you > can use to extract energy at low speeds; the system doe not stall.
I use CVTs every day. While I don't do sophisticated measurements on them I notice that they don't run hot. Where else would the energy go? In other words, why would CVTs be inefficient? In any case, within reasonable limits, energy efficiency is not the issue. Overall economic efficency is. Even if electrical energy from wind turbines was used on site to drive an air liquifaction plant, the result would be a cryo-fuel that could stored, transported, and distrubuted in a manner not so different from our present petroleum economy. Oil wells, refineries, tanker trucks and gasoline stations are probably not very energy efficient either, and yet, up until recently, our economy did quite well with them. Incidentally, for those not familiar with the handling of liquid air, or in my case, LN2, it's amazing how easy it is to store and handle. The prospect of having large Dewar flasks around may seem daunting, but actually, styrofoam may be the the answer. Its's amazing how you can fill a styrofoam drink cup with LN2 and not even have the outside feel cool. One can even imagine liquid air pipelines based on plastic foam insulation. Just Chillin' M. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web!
