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aspheric_cow t1_j477chf wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Why don't Wind Turbines have two or more adjacent sets of blades instead of one? by Deewon_

The power output does not scale linearly. The blades interfere with each other, so the more blades you put on a turbine, the less power each blade generates. Same reason nobody builds biplanes anymore - one long wing is more efficient than two shorter ones, one on top of another.

In fact, two blades would be more efficient (but less stable), and there are even examples of single blade turbines out there.

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Rokmonkey_ t1_j47tc4h wrote

This is correct, it's something called solidity, ratio of number of blades, diameter and chord length. Generally the lower you go the more efficient, though there is some lower limit.

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