The stereotypical wind turbine design demands a lot of clearance around it, a tall tower, and plenty of high winds, but a new design could change all of that.
The Wind Harvester is a serious departure from most wind turbine designs, not only because of its horizontal design and the type motion required to generate power, but because it is claimed to be able to produce electricity from both high and low wind speeds.
“The new Wind Harvester is based on a reciprocating motion that uses horizontal aerofoils similar to those used on aeroplanes. It is virtually noise-free and can generate electricity at a low speed, which may result in less opposition to new installations. It will also be operational at higher wind speeds than current wind turbines. – Wind Power Innovations“
The inventor of the Wind Harvester, Heath Evdemon (founder of Wind Power Innovations), has support from Nottingham Trent University’s Future Factory project, and a large-scale working model is expected to be installed in the Derbyshire Peak District.
According to Gizmag, Evdemon said “We’re looking for potential sites within the Peak District National Park at the moment and then we’ll turn our attention to industry, but it’s a product which could one day be rolled out to farms working towards becoming carbon neutral and homeowners looking for a cheap and sustainable source of power.”
The Wind Harvester is said to be able to be manufactured in any size up to 15 meters across, only needs to be about half a meter off the ground, and the device can be broken down into manageable pieces so the installation process will not need to use heavy machinery, which is a boon in environmentally sensitive areas.
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