Japanese breakthrough will make wind power cheaper than nuclear
A surprising aerodynamic innovation in wind turbine design called the ‘wind lens’ could triple the output of a typical wind turbine, making it less costly than nuclear power.
This article pretty high on the hype, and pretty low on details. One thing it leaves out is that these turbines are specifically for floating farms; the article glosses over this, and espouses its usage on fields and prairies. The 3-fold claim is high, too - the University Professor the CNNGo article on wind lenses claims a 2- to 3-fold increase.
That article also explains - a little - how the technology works: the cowling works as a focus, forcing more air through. Anyone have additional sources for how these things work?
(via other-stuff)
If US power consumption stays linear (currently rising by approximately 65,000 GWh/Year), and we had converted our entire line of power production to LFTR reactors by 2006, we would have required approximately 80,319 tons of Thorium fuel between 2006 and 2100. At ~$107,000 per ton, that’s pretty cheap. Less than $9M. It’s mind boggling that LFTR reactors were killed by PWRs, simply because PWRs can be used as a part of the manufacture of weapons grade fissile material.
