On (03 Nov 96) Jim Dunmyer wrote to Ian Woofenden...
 > The "monthly output" depends entirely upon your wind speeds. Get
 > some average wind speed data, look at the machine's power curves
 > and you could make a seat-of-the-pants guess at the monthly
 > output.
 JD> One thing to remember with wind power is that the output of a
 JD> wind generator rises as the CUBE of the wind speed. There is a
 JD> huge difference in the potential energy of 10 and 12 MPH
 JD> winds.
Yes, and I don't know quite how to do the calculations and analysis.
I don't think _average_ wind speed is an adequate measurement, since
a site with storm winds could have a lower average but higher total
output because of the wind-speed-cubed factor. Yes? Or is my
semi-mathematical brain not screwed on this early morning?
 JD> This is why they recommend using TALL towers in most
 JD> installations; you get a lot more wind at higher elevations.
 JD> I'm sure you saw that article in HP Mag a while back where
 JD> they easily cost-justified 100 foot-tall towers.
Yep. 
Thanks,
                        Ian
... "There is more to life than increasing your speed."  - Ghandi             
 
... Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the
streets after them. --Bill Vaughn
--- PPoint 1.96
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