Novel Wind Turbine Architecture

[JohnnyYesterday]

This is the most interesting wind energy concept that I have come across so far. It looks odd at first, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense: the square-cube law makes many things less efficient, decreases their power to weight ratio, etc., as their volume increases; wind turbines are no different.

It also, brilliantly, allows the creation of solely tensile structures (much more efficient with materials) instead of towers under compressive and tensile loading. Imagine rope-like drive shafts reaching kilometers up into the sky . . .

http://youtu.be/P55HfnGR6kQ

http://www.selsam.com/

I should do a rewrite of my Turbine Plants. Flying whirligig vines filling the skies and "kelp" in water would be much more evocative.