Originally Posted by
gerv
What scares me about the Maglev is its sheer size... once again the power of the megaproject.
Another windmill design I've heard of is the Dutch "Turby" which is designed for urban rooftops, small scale, relatively quiet... It is about 10feet by 6. It is priced around 11,466 Euros (which may be a gazillion USD by now... but that's another story...)
"Turby is a revolutionary vertical axis wind turbine designed for use in an urban or built-up environments. It is a 2.5 kilowatt wind generator designed for high rooftops and can generate enough electricity to reduce the electric bill of a typical home by two thirds. The Turby has 3 helically shaped composite blades located at a fixed distance from the shaft. It has very low vibrations, very low noise level and an excellent efficiency."
-quoted from http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/e...vertical_.html
That's more like it. Think about every household having a turby (or PV array) that produces, say, 30 per cent of their electricity. Then imagine every household also reducing usage of grid power by another 30 per cent through efficiency and conservation. All of a sudden the problems of global warming and peak fossil seem much less insurmountable--and with little decline in lifestyle.