The power output of a wind farm of vertical-axis designs can be increased about tenfold simply by placing the turbines so they react with each other, say researchers at the California Institute of Technology led by John Dabiri, Caltech professor of aeronautics and bioengineering, and colleagues during the summer of 2010. They have been conducting…

Nothing yet, but John O. Dabiri, a fluid-dynamics expert at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) may change that. His studies of schooling fish have inspired new ideas for wind farm layouts. As an associate professor of aeronautics and bioengineering at Caltech, Dabiri says he’s interested in developing better ways of harnessing wave and wind…