Not really Rolf,

It is not the weight of the blades that is the core of the problem but the aerodynamic forces on the Blades. Can't solve that by choosing a different material.

Think of it in this way. When a rotor has a diameter of over 100 meters then the gust at ground level doesn't have that much correlation to the windspeed at 170 meters above the ground. The support structure for the Rotor being at least 70 mtr tall itself.

So one can easily see how the load situation on the rotor is assymetric and changing all the time. We are talking about 5 to 10 MW energy production and that means "I don't know how many" tons of aerodyamic pressure on the blades at basically tens of meters of leverage arms.

Ocean currents are more stable I guess but also alot more slow. You pretty much have to find an underwater gorge somewhere with an accellerated current running through it to sufficiently offset the drag incurred by the turning rotor and come out with a net energy production.

Anyway, we are not going to start another topic about theories and hypotheses right ?



Make that " ... also sails F16 catamarans" !

Why not get some promotion out of it as well. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />


See Ya all.

Wouter