2004 Review: Solar Turbo-generator Basics through New Turbine Designs

December 2004

Here we are at the end of another busy year. We've covered a lot of ground -- from turbine design to solar reflector design and construction tips & techniques.

That pretty much wraps up the basics and lays the groundwork for the next phase: systems development. During this last year (2004) we touched very lightly on the details of solar turbo-generator systems. As we move into the development phase, we will concentrate much more on the details.

There is still a lot of ground to cover before working systems are up and running. We haven't even begun to cover topics such as embedded electronics control of tracking, fluid management, etc. But we plan to cover that and more in the new year.

This last year we have kept a close eye on global events such as global warming, oil reserves, upwardly spirally energy demand, and political events. Our work is right on schedule, and will be completed just before the real crisis begins to hit in 2008.

It's important for all of us to work a bit harder this year to pull all of these technical ideas together into working systems. We would like to hear more from our club members around the world concerning their experiments and efforts in this new energy initiative.

It seems like every time you turn around you are being hit with rising costs and more bills. Well, there is something we can all do about that. As we apply the basic knowledge covered here at the PTBC over the last few years to real initiatives in 2005 -- whether in waste oil burners or solar reflectors -- our efforts will slowly move the world in the right direction.

Personally, I believe that our future and the future of the world lies in harnessing the sun to do a major portion of our work, and to provide the energy needed to change the way the globe is managed (mismanaged). The sun provides us with more than enough energy for world needs; it is up to us to learn how to harness it and use it for the good of mankind.

Only through harnessing solar energy and the sun's more subtle indirect forms of energy, such as wind and geothermal, can we move into sustainable fuels such as biofuel and hydrogen.

It will take wide scale harnessing of these free energies to finally break the shackles imposed by the energy cartel boys. But it's going to take all of us pitching in this year to make it happen.

After covering a number of ways to construct turbines and solar reflectors, we should all have a pretty good ideal as to which direction to go in. The hardest part is to begin -- once your project is initiated, it seems to take shape on its own as you plug away. So with that in mind, let's make this a real breakthrough year in developing complete working solar turbo generator systems. We have most of the pieces to the puzzle, now let's put it all together.

Until next month and the beginning of an exciting new year -- keep those turbines spinning!

Ken Rieli