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Solar assisted wind

 Paint an area of desert black, build wind farms around it
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Why not take a few square miles of desert somewhere and paint it black?

It'd be hotter than the surrounding area and should create a more or less constant updraft.

Then you just build a wind farm around the perimeter.

—Iangould, Dec 12 2009

(Half) Baked http://en.wikipedia...Solar_updraft_tower
[goldbb, Dec 13 2009]

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       We could just put some windmills up around the edges of all our (halfbakers) computer screens for that matter.
—Sparkyplugclean, Dec 12 2009
   

       A few square miles of shade cloth with a turbine tower in the center would work better.   

       Or an updraft corridor of 15mi wide black tar from LA to Boston. A fleet of sail ferries would remain in constant pattern with docking facilities for xfer to secondary aircraft at major points along the way. Ferries would be routed such that they would never shadow the tar from the sun. Auxiliary power would maintain sail ferries through anything less than pure sunshine along the way. Flight paths would be low enough to remain generally unobtrusive to standard air traffic. Due to a slow rate of travel and to opportunities for sightseeing along the way this might best suit the cruise ship demographic. Plenty of entertainment aboard including gambling, prostitution, dueling, and many other neato, duty free, and sundry pleasures generally accorded only to those inhabitants of water going, air going, or territorially sanctified aboriginal fun time emporia.   

       Sorry. It's Sunday. I'm a little bored. This sounds like a nice place to be at the moment.
—outloud, Dec 13 2009
   

       the desert has a pesky habit of burying anything you put in it, including black paint.   

       Mirrors reflecting toward a central focal point is a much simpler way to harness energy in the desert, it's already been done.   

       There are enough windy places on earth that we don't need to generate more of them.
—rocdoc, Dec 14 2009
   

       I once had a green door that I wanted to paint black. No colours anymore, I want to paint them black, does that count?
—4whom, Dec 14 2009
   

       4whom you feeling alright?
—WcW, Dec 14 2009
   

       Funny, 4whom. I wanted to do the same thing to a red door.
—Laimak, Dec 15 2009
   

       I like it, I could have so much fun in a glider!
—DIYMatt, Dec 16 2009
   


 

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