Today, this blog is posting a culled news report posted online by Joshua S. Hill, about a U.S. Department of Energy sponsored research project to facilitate the building of a new generation of giant offshore wind turbines that will produce 50MW of renewable power. Such renewable energy innovations will be a real boon for nations like our homeland Ghana.
It is the considered view of some of those (myself included) who refuse to hide their contempt for the unimaginative doom-mongering politicians and their mean-spirited lackeys in the Ghanaian media, forever painting Mother Ghana black, that the sharing of such culled online content about life-enhancing innovation, ought to be one of the creative ways that the more responsible sections of the Ghanaian media can give hope to Ghanaians, that their country's future can indeed be very bright - if they make the right choice in this November's presidential election.
If Ghanaians are wise, they would dump both presidential candidates of the corrupt duopoly made up of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which dominate our nation's politics - and instead vote in their numbers to elect Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom as Ghana's next President.
Nduom, who can actually transform Ghana into a prosperous nation, whose citizens enjoy a high standard of living, will prove to be the best leader for our nation, since the overthrow of President Nkrumah in 1966, if elected President in November.
In terms of personal achievements that positively impact the lives of many, he towers above both President Mahama and the NPP's Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo.
Nduom has an enquiring mind that enables him to look for and accept cutting-edge breakthroughs in all fields of human endeavour that Ghana can leverage to power its economy. It enables him to seize opportunities when industry-disrupting innovations appear and use them to create wealth and jobs in the real economy.
It is a very special gift he is blessed with - enabling him to quickly seize opportunities to build solid businesses that create wealth and jobs.
That is why he is not criss-crossing Ghana making empty promises that can never be kept in a zillion years by any responsible government made up of truly honest, patriotic and nationalistic individuals.
Nduom says what he means and never says what he cannot do - unlike so many Ghanaian politicians: including the NDC/NPP duopoly's President Mahama and Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, alas.
He understands that it is private-sector businesses in the real economy that will bring about the transformstion of our country, and that the next President's administration must therefore create the right climate for SMEs to flourish. That will be his focus.
His stellar track record in creating 50-plus businesses of his own in three continents that provide fulfilling jobs for the younger generation and wealth for their owners is just the kind of real-world-economy experience that Ghana's next leader ought to have and needs at this juncture of its history.
Most of the NDC/NPP duopoly's leading lights are too busy scheming to enrich themselves at Mother Ghana's expense, to bother about the well-being of our nation and its people - otherwise why do some of the duopoly's most influential members repeatedly threaten to resort to violence if their candidates fail to win the presidential election?
The question is: Why is the NDC so desperate to hold on to power - and why is the NPP so desperate to wrestle poiwer from the NDC? And, above all, why have the leafding lights of both parties studiously ignored calls for them to publicly publish their assets and those of their spouses?
Ditto disclose all the sources of their parties' campaign funds and the amounts each donor contributes? If they are reluctant to do so - as evidence of their good intentions in seeking power - what right do they have to threaten mayhem if they don't win November's presidential election? What gall. What perfidy.
Is governing the Republic of Ghana a matter of life and death? Incredible.
If some of the NDC/NPP duopoly's leading members want to win power at all costs, and are even prepared to resort to violence and set Ghana ablaze, for that end, is it not obvious that they want power for the sole purpose of looting our homeland Ghana?
That is why Nduom is determined to probe all the regimes that have held power since the 4th Republic came into being. He is determined to end impunity in Ghana. Too many people have ripped our nation off and gotten away with it - and Nduom will not stand for it. Fantastic.
The fact that he is committed to publicly disclosing his assets and those of his wife is ample testimony to his honesty and the mark of politician with a moral compass. Just the very qualities that our nation needs in its next leader.
Ghanaians must awaken to the threat that the two corrupt parties that make up the NDC/NPP duopoly pose to their nation - and dump the presidential candidates of that confounded duopoly in the November elections.
Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom will lead a government of national unity made up of the most brilliant and creative minds from across the spectrum to transform our homeland Ghana - by leveraging the very best bleeding-edge ideas from around the world to power our national economy. Cool.
Nduom has the imagination, nous and gumption to invite the world's biggest wind turbine manufacturer, Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Limited, to explore the possibility of forming a consortium of Ghanaian and Chinese entrepreneurs, to seek funding from China to build the world's biggest offshore wind farm off our shores to generate 10,000 MW of affordable renewable power for Ghana.
That is the kind of visionary and achiever who should lead Ghana after the November presidential election - not the corrupt, clueless and incompetent NDC/NPP duopoly's serial empty-promise-making candidates, President Mahama and Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo.
Younger generation Ghanaians must awaken and choose the right leader for Ghana, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, to secure their collective and individual futures.
Please read on:
''Mammoth 50 MW Wind Turbine Blades Could Revolutionize Offshore Wind In US
A new design for mammoth wind turbine blades longer than two football fields could deliver 50 MW offshore wind turbines.
The research for the new wind turbine blades designs has been conducted by the Sandia National Laboratories, a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp., for the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. According to Sandia, it was challenged to design a low-cost offshore 50 MW turbine with wind turbine blades of more than 650 feet, or 200 meters in length.
That’s two and a half times longer than any existing wind turbine blade.
“Exascale turbines take advantage of economies of scale,” said Todd Griffith, lead blade designer on the project and technical lead for Sandia’s Offshore Wind Energy Program. Sandia has been working on wind turbine designs for a while now — including 13 MW systems using 100 meter blades, which are the basis for Sandia’s Segmented Ultralight Morphing Rotor (SUMR) designs.
Sandia’s 100-meter blade is the basis for the Segmented Ultralight Morphing Rotor (SUMR), a new low-cost offshore 50-MW wind turbine. At dangerous wind speeds, the blades are stowed and aligned with the wind direction, reducing the risk of damage. At lower wind speeds, the blades spread out more to maximize energy production. (Illustration courtesy of TrevorJohnston.com/Popular Science)
50 MW wind turbines are a long way off, but according to Sandia, “studies show that load alignment can dramatically reduce peak stresses and fatigue on the rotor blades.” This would not only reduce blade costs, but eventually lead to the mythical 50 MW wind turbines.
And these developments are vital to the offshore wind industry in the US.
“The US has great offshore wind energy potential, but offshore installations are expensive, so larger turbines are needed to capture that energy at an affordable cost,” Griffith said.
“Conventional upwind blades are expensive to manufacture, deploy and maintain beyond 10-15 MW. They must be stiff, to avoid fatigue and eliminate the risk of tower strikes in strong gusts. Those stiff blades are heavy, and their mass, which is directly related to cost, becomes even more problematic at the extreme scale due to gravity loads and other changes.”
That’s where Sandia’s segmented designs come in (as seen above). Not only do they provide more cost-effective manufacturing and installation — as the blades can be manufactured in segments rather than as a massive long blade, which extends to transportation and installation as well — but, inspired by how palm trees move in storms, the blades would be positioned downwind, and the segmented sections would bend in the wind while retaining segment stiffness.
“At dangerous wind speeds, the blades are stowed and aligned with the wind direction, reducing the risk of damage,” explained Griffith. “At lower wind speeds, the blades spread out more to maximize energy production.” "
End of culled online news report by Joshua S. Hill.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment