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In Somalia, there is this mountain pass that focuses a lot of wind energy from the Indian Ocean monsoon (think of it as a giant backwards S, with the bottom part of that feeding directly towards Somalia) into a narrow region. Wind speeds here can easily reach 150-200mph. Before things turned for the worse down there, many scientists advised the leaders of that nation to place wind turbines there and harness the energy, both for their own needs and to sell. Unfortunately, they did not; it's not why they have been in such dire straits since then, but could have helped prevent them from getting there. Harnessing a storm's energy has some feasibility behind it, but meshing out the technology and making sure the parts don't break under such conditions both still need to be worked out. Cost is probably a concern initially as well, but if located in the primary hurricane strike zones, could have some cost-benefits in the long run. It's an interesting idea, to say the least... |