How can the AVE increase the electrical capacity of a thermal power plant without requiring more fuel?
An AVE can increase the power capacity of a thermal power plant by reducing the cold sink temperature from the temperature at the bottom of the atmosphere which is approximately 30C to the temperature at the top of the troposphere which is -60C. Decreasing the temperature of the cold sink of a Carnot engine from +30C to -60C can significantly increase the overall efficiency. An atmospheric vortex engine could increase the electrical output of a 500 MW plant to approximately 700 MW by converting 20% of its 1000 MW of waste heat to work thereby increasing the overall output of the power plant by close to 40%.
