Some Cleantech Business Plans Make Outrageous Claims
When I tell people that I’ve reviewed over 1100 cleantech business plans/concepts, I can see that some of them are impressed. They really shouldn’t be. I spend only a few seconds on most of them. Here’s one that’s expressed in this YouTube video that I actually watched through to the end (four minutes), not because the idea has merit, but because I was impressed at the totally outrageous claims it made. The guy wants to raise $100 million to go into production! Wow. Outlandish. Brazen. High-handed. A true award-winner in my book.
That YouTube video was total nonsense.
Assuming that bearing friction accounts for less than 5% of the losses in a wind turbine (probably it accounts for far less than 5% of the losses), the improvement in efficiency resulting from using magnetic levitation to eliminate that friction would be very minor. Thus, reviewing that proposal would require no more than a few seconds.
Also, vertical axis wind generators have been more than amply demonstrated to be far less practical than horizontal axis wind generators.
To say that that proposal is brazen is an extreme understatement. In in addition to brass, it requires real temerity, cheek, chutzpah, gall, and nerve. What is amazing is that the proposers thought that they had even the slightest chance to get away with it.
I would say that magnetic levitation bearings will deal with lubrication and servicing problems better, although I see a frictionless bearing as a good solution, they work, gosh, they even have them on bullet trains. It depends on costs, I would say.
Vertical axis wind turbines are being now investigated because apparently they are more efficient capturing wind in wind farms, they can be put closer together, plus, you don´t have to steer the whole turbine into the wind, they catch it from wherever it comes.