Help with wind turbines/wind mills?

Question

In school we are designing a colony for Mars. I'm supposed to provide power through wind turbines.

What would be a more sensible choice - VAWTs or HAWTs?

Answer 1

From what we know about the winds on Mars we must believe that they would tend to be what we call terrestrial winds blowing close to the ground. So I would think that a VAWT would work the best. VAWT's have the turbine shaft running vertically to the ground. With this arrangement, the generator and/or gearbox can be placed at the bottom of the tower, near the ground. The tower doesn't need to support the turbine, and it doesn't need to be pointed into the wind. It is difficult to mount VAWT's on towers, however. This means that they must operate in the slower, more turbulent wind near the ground, resulting in lower operational efficiency. Which is perfect for Martian winds.

Answer 2

You would be better off with solar panels. The atmosphere is too thin to effectively power a VAWT or HAWT system.