The Windmill
April 15, 2007
I tried repeatedly to contact Nicolas Hulot. Eventually, I sent him an open letter, which went unanswered. Ah, well... I did receive a letter from his team, full of... wind, empty words. They claimed our television ecologist "was very aware of the nuclear issue."
I wasn't suggesting stopping all research into nuclear energy or fusion, but rather exploring non-neutronic, non-polluting fusion pathways.
My Letter to Hulot
I looked into the scientists surrounding Hulot. I found no physicists—only biologists focused on environmental studies. I said I was ready at any moment to give a presentation to brief them on the potential offered by the results obtained from the Z-machine in 2005–2006. No response.
I wrote to Hulot again. I offered to write him a complete book on all new energy production systems. I told him I was willing to do this without earning a single cent, and even without my name appearing. Think about it—I'm troublesome: I'm interested in UFOs! Everyone who knows me understands this isn't idle talk. I was ready to start working immediately: texts, drawings, scientific-technical explanations.
No reply.
I'll now cite, at random, one of these fantastic, simple new ideas: harnessing wind energy at high altitudes, between 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Wind is stronger at altitude than near the ground. This won't surprise anyone. The Earth's surface slows air masses down through simple friction. At 5,000 meters, average wind speed is roughly twice as strong, and this factor can reach three or more at higher altitudes. Now, the power we can extract from a wind turbine varies with the... cube of the wind speed.
- Factor 2: 8 times more energy
- Factor 3: 27 times more energy
Let’s be more precise. The extracted power is also proportional to air density. At 5,000 meters, air density is half that at ground level. So placing a turbine at 5,000 meters, where wind is on average twice as strong, would yield 8 × 0.5 = 4 times more power.
At 10,000 meters, air density is one-third of that at ground level. But wind intensity is greater. We could still expect a factor of 7 or 8. And so on...
What converts wind energy into electricity? A wind turbine? Yes—but not the kind you're used to seeing:
The Helicodyne
The idea isn't mine. You'll find all the details on the website:
http://www.skywindpower.com/ww/index.htm
These people have been working on such projects for a long time. The next tests will involve stations producing 200 kW, aiming for 10 MW in the future. The idea is brilliant in its simplicity. The structure is absolutely lightweight: rotors made of fiber, wound, generators and frame made of carbon fiber. These devices benefit from prior research on high-altitude kites conducted in the USA. However, those earlier projects weren't about generating electricity, but rather keeping early-warning radar systems aloft for long-range surveillance. These are kites we're not used to seeing. How does it work? Through
autorotation.
You'll find the mechanism of autorotation described in detail, thoroughly explained, in my upcoming comic book "The Vertical Passion," which Eurocopter will publish in 10,000 copies for the Bourget Air Show. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to buy these albums—they’re not for sale, but distributed by the company as corporate gifts (during the show’s "professional days"). The album will be released in four languages: French, English, German, and Spanish. It is currently being digitally colored.
Later, it will be translated into 28 languages by
http://www.savoir-sans-frontieres.com
Due to significant delays accumulated, the team must focus on this printed edition (everything must be finalized by month’s end!). But as soon as it launches, a PDF version will be posted on Eurocopter’s "Centenary Blog," viewable on screen and freely downloadable in both color and black-and-white (for printing). Angèle Sorba, from Eurocopter’s communications department, initiated this delightful project. She even invented the album’s title: "The Vertical Passion."
Some sample pages are available now on the Savoir Sans Frontières website.
Back to these generators positioned at high altitude. A reader asked me: "But how do you manage to place these electricity-generating systems at 5,000 or 10,000 meters?"
Simple: they're also kites. Once you’ve seen the comic, you’ll understand better. With a given wind regime, positioning the device at the altitude where wind speed is strongest maximizes energy capture, which serves two purposes:
- Keeping the machine airborne
- Generating electricity
The machine has four rotors. By adjusting the blade pitch, we control its attitude. With strong winds, the proportion of energy used for lift decreases. We "trim" the device. The goal is to achieve the highest possible rotor rotation speed.
If the wind drops, the automatic control system will lay the machine "flat."
Mass-produced, these devices could equip many countries. Size isn’t an issue. We plan to build units with 30-meter-diameter rotors—technology we fully master (it's the same as that used in giant Russian Mil helicopters). In the air, not only is wind stronger, but solar exposure is more intense. These "kite stations" could generate electricity not only from wind but also from solar power. When wind becomes insufficient, we could simply bring them down to the ground like ordinary kites, or keep them aloft by feeding them electricity. Efficiency could reach 60%. I’m becoming quite familiar with helicopter technology. I’m involved in developing a prototype.
ALe H2S. At the controls, test pilot Daniel Michau. On the right, Jacky, its designer.
Helicodynes don’t require the full sophisticated technology of real helicopter rotor heads, with their cyclic pitch variations, etc. The blades are elastically mounted using "sphériflex" composite systems.
When flying in a helicopter, the pilot’s and passengers’ lives are entirely dependent on the mechanics. No one on a helicopter has a parachute: people would be shredded by the rotor. There are significant maintenance costs. On a helicodyne, these problems disappear—especially if the devices are placed in sparsely populated areas. These stations would be ideal for deserts (especially inland deserts like the Gobi, where violent winds prevail). These stations benefit from exceptional stability, as the rotors behave like gyroscopes. Anyone who’s flown a helicopter knows this well. Rotating wings handle gusts very well. In the case of positioning at 10,000 meters...