Using Brave browser to check the cost of electricity produced from natural gas compared to offshore wind turbines – which one do you think costs thousands of times more and has an environmental footprint a thousand times greater?
Long before I researched any of this stuff, long before I knew anything about industrial materials involved, long before I could even do the basic math, when I was just a wee little lad: I squinted up at the windmills spinning atop the hills by the highway. My dad told me they were for making electricity. I knew in that moment they were a retarded idea
The company I work for used to have an Industrial and Marine group. We had a wonderful Scottish Engineer who would patiently show me tbe numbers. The most coarse and inefficient system would burn natural gas in a gas turbine as if on an aircraft wing and exhaust absurdly hot gases which is waste. By adding cost and complexity additional turbines are added to extract more and more energy. Next, water is injected into the combustion process to lower temperatures. This can easily triple the maximum amount of work a given engine can do as the temperature can be kept below material limits. Water injection is increased until another limit is reached, such as torque. The huge amounts of steam expand across many power turbines. Next, the hot exhaust has energy extracted by inlet heat exchanger. The water is expanded into a tower, condensed, and pumped back again, saving distilled water and energy and avoiding contaminated waste water. So little energy remains in the exhaust it must be extracted with a fan. When you spend a tiny fraction of the amount of money needed for wind and solar, final exhaust temperature is only maybe 30 degC above ambient. The computer adjusts the cycle for peak efficiency. Large diesels can mimic much of the above but cost more to buy ( surprisingly), and are less flexible. Windmills on the ocean are really absurd. A total mess.
I am not as expert as yourself - I have no doubt that had talent bee applied ad supported to the same degree as wind and solar tech, the world would be a far better ad cheaper place!
I have often wondered why similar expertise to that you articulate could not have bee applied to ICE exhausts from combustion chambers to capture ad eve sell emissions via some new, yet to be invented device/process.
Long before I researched any of this stuff, long before I knew anything about industrial materials involved, long before I could even do the basic math, when I was just a wee little lad: I squinted up at the windmills spinning atop the hills by the highway. My dad told me they were for making electricity. I knew in that moment they were a retarded idea
The company I work for used to have an Industrial and Marine group. We had a wonderful Scottish Engineer who would patiently show me tbe numbers. The most coarse and inefficient system would burn natural gas in a gas turbine as if on an aircraft wing and exhaust absurdly hot gases which is waste. By adding cost and complexity additional turbines are added to extract more and more energy. Next, water is injected into the combustion process to lower temperatures. This can easily triple the maximum amount of work a given engine can do as the temperature can be kept below material limits. Water injection is increased until another limit is reached, such as torque. The huge amounts of steam expand across many power turbines. Next, the hot exhaust has energy extracted by inlet heat exchanger. The water is expanded into a tower, condensed, and pumped back again, saving distilled water and energy and avoiding contaminated waste water. So little energy remains in the exhaust it must be extracted with a fan. When you spend a tiny fraction of the amount of money needed for wind and solar, final exhaust temperature is only maybe 30 degC above ambient. The computer adjusts the cycle for peak efficiency. Large diesels can mimic much of the above but cost more to buy ( surprisingly), and are less flexible. Windmills on the ocean are really absurd. A total mess.
Thanks for your knowledgeable input.
I am not as expert as yourself - I have no doubt that had talent bee applied ad supported to the same degree as wind and solar tech, the world would be a far better ad cheaper place!
I have often wondered why similar expertise to that you articulate could not have bee applied to ICE exhausts from combustion chambers to capture ad eve sell emissions via some new, yet to be invented device/process.
Thaks again