02-17-2014, 02:53 PM
Michael wrote:
What if the feds and states installed them between the upper and lower impact rails on the barriers along the interstates? They would be run by the "wind" that cars and trucks generate as they drive by. Each tiny vertical turbine would be essentially meaningless, but millions (billions?) should make a substantial contribution to the power supply.
Functionality barriers include infrastructure (cabling, etc..) and wear factors. A better candidate will be posting them on top of the noise walls that are all over the place in urban areas.
The big problem the US has with energy systems like this is the 'Big Project' mentality that locks most governments and corporations into refusing little stuff like this. Not recognizing that millions of kilowatt range generators will produce gigawatts.
The other big problem is storage. This is the real elephant in the room. The sun doesn't always shine, the wind doesn't always blow, rivers ice over, tides are sometimes big and sometimes smaller. Your generation capacity needs to be significantly higher, and your storage capacity needs to be huge in order to maintain grid demand 24/7.