I'm doing research on a possible diary about wind power. I was hiking in Germany recently and they were EVERYWHERE. They are quite beautiful, and very quiet. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, all U.S. electrical energy needs could be met by wind using conventional propeller turbines in Texas and the Dakotas ALONE.
I'm all for wind power. But there are a lot of limitations to traditional wind turbines (pictured right): they're big, they need be spaced apart, there's the bird problem, and the fact that they only work when the wind comes in from a certain direction. Despite these limitations I still think it is a technology that our country should fully invest in. It exists, it works, I say damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.
Now you might think that wind power are a rural affair. And you'd be wrong, wrong, wrong.
Believe it or not there is more wind power to harvested in compacted cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco than you'd ever imagine.
Studies in England and the Netherlands have shown that there is a velocity gain of 1.8 times as wind encounters a structure and then tumbles over a roof or around a building - therefore a 15mph wind will be almost 30mph by the time it makes the excursion. Along with this gain is a lot of associated turbulence which adversely affects open bladed turbines.
But a company called Oregon Wind has designed a turbine that is suited for harvesting wind in urban areas (pictured left).
Features and Benefits:
- Runs silently
- Produces almost no vibration
- Safe for wildlife (birds view it as a solid object)
- Able to use wind from any direction, regardless of turbulence or wind patterns
- The turbines do not affect each other when closely spaced.
- Generates power in a wide range of wind speeds
- Starts producing electricity at low wind speeds (approximately 5.5 mph)
- Does not cut out (stop producing electricity) at high wind speeds
- Extremely durable, built to last for decades, few moving parts
- Wings are replaceable and offer high recycled content, impact resistance, UV resistance
- Mass-producible at low cost
- Appropriate for all environments, temperatures and conditions
- Can be stacked to create a "wind wall" to generate more power
- Can be coupled with photovoltaic panels for increased power and consistency
It's a pretty clever design. I can just see these on every street corner in Manhattan. Or Chicago. Or San Francisco. Or Detroit. With like say, a street light on top. I can see these things being so ubiquitous that we completely forget that they are there to generate electricity.