This idea falls into the same category as the idea of the solar
collector in space, or the solar sail to propel space craft, or
plowshare where atom bombs are exploded underground to generate
harvested power. These are all ideas that in principle can work but
have so many limitations and unintended consequences that no rational
person considers them as more than examples of excessive imagination.
Let me list some of the problems I think this energy tree has.
1. They will not look like trees and be rejected on this account
alone. People will want to plant real trees where these artificial
trees might be constructed. Real trees look better and they provide
many more benefits. Also, the noise of wind passing through this
structure will not be pleasant.
2. They will need constant maintenance. Wind and weather will
gradually damage the "leaves", which unlike real trees, will not grow
back. Reaching each leaf will require labor intensive effort.
3. Each "tree" will be less efficient in producing electric power for
the same space as a conventional collector. In addition, conventional
collectors can be placed in locations that would not be suitable for
the artificial trees, which would displace real trees. In other
words, conventional collectors can be put out of sight and in
locations, like on the roof, where they can be serviced easily.
4. The generated power simply will not compete with sources that can
harvest power on a large scale, like wind and nuclear. Of course the
proponents will fudge the numbers to make their idea look competitive,
but common sense should be used to evaluate the idea.
5. This idea is based on the false premise that nature has designed
trees to have high efficiency. This is not true. The design is a
compromise between many competing needs, which does not result in a
high energy efficiency.
6. The only interesting part of the idea involves having solar
collectors constructed in an upward direction rather than spread out
over a larger area. This design would save space. However, I see no
advantage to make the collector look like a tree.
Ed
On Apr 9, 2009, at 7:07 AM, OrionWorks wrote:
To my astonishment late yesterday I received a delayed response from
Kiplinger's Customer Service dept. This was in regards to a query I
made concerning a paragraph the newsletter published back in March
where they claim there is on-going R&D going on in the concept of
"Power Trees". (Artificially manufactured mechanical "trees" that
extract electricity from both sunlight/photosynthesis as well as
available wind.) I thought for sure this topic had to have been an
April Fool's joke.
Apparently not.
Their response:
***************************************************
Dear Mr. Johnson,
In assisting another subscriber this evening whose email also did not
reach us on March 27 (we had a system crash), we found your posting
online and your question re the "Power Tower" item in The Kiplinger
Letter.
We have forwarded your online posting to the editors, who'll see it
tomorrow. In the meantime, here are two links that we ran across this
evening that you might find interesting until the editors respond.
http://www.green-energy-news.com/arch/nrgs2008/20080072.html
or
[http://tinyurl.com/df5qeg]
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Rick_Dickson:Wind_Tree
or
[http://tinyurl.com/2gn77u]
If we can be of further assistance in any way until the editors
respond, please let us know.
[address omitted]
***************************************************
I hope a few brain cells from the Vort collective might feel curious
enough to review the links supplied. A cursory glance myself tells me
that I ain't smart enough to assess the conclusions, other than that
the data supplied still strikes me as sketchy. Therefore, I'm still
inclined to agree with Stephen Lawrence's previous comment, that the
alleged claims of being able to extract a sufficient amount of useable
electricity, particularly to power a home from a single "tree" (as
they claim) would seem highly doubtful. I sympathize with Mr.
Lawrence's previous assessment, considering how little data we had to
work with. But hey! That was before Kiplinger supplied me with these
two links.
BTW, I've received numerous private queries from individuals equally
curious about this subject asking me to clue them in if I ever did
receive anything interesting. I sympathize. Inquiring minds want to
know!!!
Regards
Steven Vincent Johnson
www.OrionWorks.com
www.zazzle.com/orionworks
