Can the Atmosphere Vortex Engine Generate Enough Power to Sustain a Small City?

[SpicyRamen]

http://www.thestar.com/article/238291

Out of curiosity, in this article it says that a generator can produce on average 200 megawatts, just enough to power a small city. Does anyone know if they meant for a year or for a day?

 

[russ_watters]

A megawatt is a unit of power, not a unit of energy, meaning it is a continuous output (1 watt is 1 joule per second). So if it can put out 220 megawatts for a day, it can put out 220 megawatts for a year.

 

[berkeman]

http://www.thestar.com/article/238291

Out of curiosity, in this article it says that a generator can produce on average 200 megawatts, just enough to power a small city. Does anyone know if they meant for a year or for a day?

After skimming the article, I'm a little unclear on two things:

(1) Is he talking about building cylinders 200m across and 1km to 20km tall to house the vortexes (make those planes dodge!), or is he intending to get vortexes spinning freely in the atmosphere, and pull energy out of the bottom of them?

(2) Does he talk about why extracting the thermal energy from the waste water in this way would be more efficient than other ways? Is he trying to get some extra energy from the atmosphere somehow, other than it being the cold side of the thermal conversion?

 

[russ_watters]

I was thinking the same thing - you can, of course, induce an updraft that when confined will continue to accelerate upwards (see the solar power tower). It would be interesting if a vortex could confine the updraft without a structure, but I have my doubts. If it does require a tower that tall, though, it would obviously be cost prohibitive.

 

[SpicyRamen]

http://vortexengine.ca/index.shtml
http://vortexengine.ca/VSC/AVE_WEB.pdf

These websites might give you a better understanding.
From the pdf file it shows a open roof and the tornado ascends miles into the sky.
From the previous link on THESTAR it says it's likely they'll create the AVE generator plants around the equator of the Earth where it'll be easier to form tornadoes because of the warm air currents but also because they can declare that area a no fly zone. Airplanes caught in a tornado, I think that'll make a spiffeh new ride at Disney.

Russ_watters, can you explain your previous comment about "So if it can put out 220 megawatts for a day, it can put out 220 megawatts for a year."
If the generator can produce 220 megawatts a day, that's a significant difference supposed to if it can produce 220 megawatts in the course of 365 days. I can grasp bits and pieces of what you're trying to say, but is still a little confused. >_<"

I'm not too sure why they use waste heat as opposed to other form. It says that they use warm seawater as well, but i guess they just wanted to put waste to good use. lol

 

[russ_watters]

Russ_watters, can you explain your previous comment about "So if it can put out 220 megawatts for a day, it can put out 220 megawatts for a year."
If the generator can produce 220 megawatts a day, that's a significant difference supposed to if it can produce 220 megawatts in the course of 365 days. I can grasp bits and pieces of what you're trying to say, but is still a little confused.

I said 220 megawatts for a day, not 220 megawatts a day. If your car goes 60 miles per hour for an hour, does it go 60 miles a day? Megawatts, like speed is a rate. For electricity, energy is megawatt-hours. A power plant that puts out 220 megawatts puts out 220 megawatt-hours every hour or 5280 megawatt-hours every day.

 

[SpicyRamen]

Sorry for taking so long, Been busy with school lately.
I appreciate your help, thanks.