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myrmidon04/24/20251 replyview on HN

You need ~4 strikes per hour to keep up with a single large offshore wind turbine (15MW at 40% capacity factor).

That would mean 350km² just to match a single wind turbine (at 100% capture efficiency for 5GJ lightning strikes).

This is not ever gonna make economical sense.


Replies

nomilk04/24/2025

True that an offshore wind turbine can produce 15MW. But it can cost $100m+ just for 1 turbine (built and installed). If drones are going up anyway (to protect a city/citizens from strikes), then electricity generation is effectively free, and the marginal cost is equal to the hardware required to capture it (maybe relatively low).

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