Wind Turbines: The EcoCost

1)  Use existing power towers to mount the turbines (whether long bladed version or the horizontal or vertical barrel versions).  A wind study at each location would show which model would work best there.  Save land and resources.  Simply reinforcing existing structures would be a huge cost savings - since part of the contention is that the "cost" of manufacturing a turbine is greater than the power it will ever generate.  Power towers are already using land so instead of using new or set aside land - use space that's already been designated as a power resource.  Existing towers with minimal reinforcement can withstand the vibration of the centrifical force generated by the rotor of the turbine.  If this is too limiting due to the needed rotation of the turbine (so it can have it's "face" in the wind) then another model type may work more efficiently.  Use of a crossbar from tower to tower, is another option.  Like the project in Dubai, where they mounted the hub between 2 buildings facing the wind.  With a 10% rotation it's not optimal but given enough "play" for the face to turn into the wind, the blades could still get the 5 foot variance they need in sway.  

30 - 40 ft high towers have shown to be ideal.  The repurposed hybrid towers could be local instead of the just opting for larger wind farms.  Communities could vote whether to use their existing towers.   Subsidize residents who wish to incorporate this technology too.  This could create seamless less expensive Microsystems, in a macro cycle.  Tying into the grid would be less expensive because conversion units wouldn't be necessary.  So, systems could be 1)  Wind farms  2)  Local power towers 3) Residents and businesses

2)  Power lines:  expand the landing, or shorten their run to be grounded and assimilated into the same grouping as the turbine for ease of condensing and converting energy.  The blades wouldn't be able to impinge the cables.

3)  Possibly incorporate solar technology systems.  Would it be worthwhile to look into nano technology?  The sun's energy and infrared heat / ray convert into energy.  This could be "printed" onto the surface of the turbine: blades, pole, or tower.  Nano technology is approximately 80% efficient as opposed to the workhorse of PV or solar panels that are only about 20% efficient.  What's needed is an effective "energy reservoir" for the stored energy to reside.  Bromide is a great conductor, but when certain capacity is reached, it begins to conduct the flow back against itself.  So an effective cut off or reservoir is needed to retain the captured energy.  Deep cycle batteries with some sort of circuit breaker that reconnects when enough energy builds up and pushes to the reservoir.    Another idea is there could be a recapture system that can feed into itself.  That is turn the flow or overflow into something like an HVAC duct that could direct the current instead of releasing the energy and "losing" it.