Today's state of the art windmills are rated at 3.5 - 5 MW. Converted to mechanical horsepower, that is about 4700 HP - 6700 HP. The tower height can be 100 meters or more. I have been in the hub house (holds the gearbox and generator) of a large one on display on the ground, it's about the size of a Greyhound bus. While you make a valid point about putting a device making that much power that far up on a tall post, the mechanics of transmitting that much power 100 meters or more to the ground are quite daunting. Belt drive is not practical, and shaft drive is most likely impractical as well.

The propeller shaft on a ship with a 6700 HP engine will be something like 12" diameter or more, can you imagine the weight and bearing(s) issues with a 12" metal shaft 100 meters long in a vertical position? Carbon fiber shafts would be possible, I suppose, but the cost is probably prohibitive.

I am sure that this subject has been studied by some fairly sharp folks and a lot of options have been looked at. So far it's still best to put the bus up on top of the pole...

Rgds,
Chris W.