Wind Power will be used on Mars for 100%.
It's a perfect backup-energy plan becouse martian conditions can disable other power sources (even nuclear).
For instance: dust-storms disables PVP energy.
NASA already plans using solar-wind as the basis for energy supply on mars base - this research program is called "
NASA Cold Weather Wind Turbine Program" reseached currently on polar bases.
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"Wind power and solar power may complement each other on Mars. When you have a large dust storm blocking the sunlight on Mars, a wind turbine can still generate electricity," said scientist David Bubenheim of NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley.
"Only during dust storms on Mars is there enough wind energy to operate a wind turbine," said Michael Flynn, another NASA Ames scientist. On Earth about 10 meters (33 feet) per second wind speed is needed to make electricity with wind turbines; on Mars about 30 meters (98 feet) is needed because of the extremely thin air, according to Bubenheim.
"What we are proposing is a hybrid wind-solar system," Flynn said. "This system would use solar cells to generate electricity during sunny periods, and a wind turbine to make electricity during dust storms."
"We've looked at wind profiles based on atmospheric computer models of Mars," Bubenheim said. A scheme of complementary wind and solar power appears to be an option, he added.
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Article here: Space Daily - Polar Wind Turbines Could Be Used On Mars --->
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-base-01e.htmlAnother article: Wind Power for a Mars Mission - NASA report --->
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mragheb/www/NPRE%20475%20Wind%20Power%20Systems/Wind%20Power%20for%20a%20Mars%20Mission.pdf-------------------------------
"David Bubenheim, a scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., envisions a Mars space station powered by solar energy during clear weather, with wind-generated power picking up the slack during the dark months. The small wind turbines that Bubenheim and his fellow scientists are considering for such a project are currently used for NASA projects in Antarctica, where the continent's six months of darkness each winter make it impossible to rely on solar power year-round."
"To understand how wind turbines make electricity, think of a wind turbine as rather like a fan, only backward. Instead of using electricity to make wind as a fan does, the turbines use wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator that produces electricity. Utility-scale turbines vary in size; they're capable of generating from 50 kilowatts to more than 2 megawatts. The turbines being looked at for the Mars project generate about 100 kW, depending on the location and the thickness of the air. At an Alaska test site, the turbine clocked a maximum of 120 kW in a 36-mph wind. At a test site in Colorado, where air is denser, it averaged closer to the expected 100 kW, said an Alaskan utility company engineer."
"Turbines can generate big returns mainly because they can be easily located in remote regions of the globe—and, of course, potentially on Mars—where access to electricity is limited or non-existent, and where even small amounts of electricity can significantly improve the quality of life, the DOE says."
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Mechanical engineering power (2003) - "Mars Needs Turbines - Scientists look at powering a Mars space station with on-site wind."
Full article here: --->
http://www.memagazine.org/supparch/mepower03/marsneeds/marsneeds.htmlHere's NASA article about Wind Generators --->
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20020087640_2002143301.pdf -------------------------------
I don't know how exactly that wind turbine on Mars would look like but on the articles I listed scientists say "the turbines tested are basicly the ones that could be send to Mars".
Here are some possible looks:
http://landscapearchiteck.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/mariah-power-windspire-wind-turbine-2.jpg?w=600&h=518http://inlinethumb60.webshots.com/41915/2138042150104181437S600x600Q85.jpghttp://www.designboom.com/cms/images/-01m/287.jpghttp://www.nasa.gov/images/content/149600main_1987_05991.jpghttp://www.spacedaily.com/images/polar-windmill-bg.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wOts_TNJPz8/SI1i0JTd3tI/AAAAAAAAABg/MTlFUQP-OKU/s320/loop+wing+wind_turbine.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wOts_TNJPz8/SI1VZol3PAI/AAAAAAAAABQ/Kj-YRZp6FO8/s320/wind_turbines_Darrieus_windmill.jpgThis one I find interesting --->
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wOts_TNJPz8/SI1pu7k-sGI/AAAAAAAAACQ/9rGbdIZLarU/s1600/mars-wind-turbine.jpgIt's basically a baloon that's easy to transport and generates much energy.
http://www.magenn.com/images/marsIsTheFuture.jpgRead about it here --->
http://www.magenn.com/