Wind Energy Variations. As with rooftop solar and solar farms, wind turbines dotting the landscape can no longer be classed as an emerging or underutilized technology. So in this section we will be making the effort to introduce you to some of the lesser known, lesser used, but still (we think) promising forms of wind energy generation. Such as: Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) technology. A VAWT has blades mounted on the top of the main shaft structure rather than in the front, like an propeller-powered airplane rotor. In this sense, a VAWT operates more like a helicopter. The generator of electricity is usually placed at the tower base. “Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Advantages and Disadvantages”. www.arcadia.com 7/27/17. Take a look at the VAWT equipment from WindCity, in Italy: www.windcity.it The WindCity site points out how the VAWT is able to generate power from low-altitude, intermittent wind gusts. Its start-up time is 4 times faster than conventional HAWTs – horizontal axis wind turbines. Many of the VAWT’s attributes make it a far better and productive choice when seeking to generate green power in urban situations. “Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Can Offer Cheaper Electricity for Urban and Suburban Areas”. www.publishing.aip.org 8/3/17. “Roof Top Wind Turbine for Urban Areas”. www.cordis.europa.eu Summary: An EU-funded initiative has developed a wind turbine capable of exploiting the low-velocity turbulent wind conditions found in urban environments. “Wind-turbine Placement Produces Tenfold Power Increase” www.phys.org This phys.org article points out that VAWTs have the potential to generate as much as 10 times more power over a comparably sized area of land, when placed in arrays, than an array of widely-spaced HAWTs. Wind Tulips are a variety of VAWTs from Leviathan Energy, of Israel and the U.S. www.flowerturbines.com . Wind Tulips are generators of electricity that combine aerodynamics and sleek industrial design to make beautiful small VAWTs that start up at low wind speeds. They are low-noise and bird-friendly, and can be clustered closely together to maximize power output. “Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Can Offer Cheaper Electricity For Urban and Suburban Areas” 8/3/17. www.sciencedaily.com This article is from a study by the American Institute of Physics. “Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Will Soon Be Coming to a Rooftop (or Ocean) Near You” 11/9/22. www.cleantechnica.com “Leading-Edge Wind Turbine at Burlington International Airport” 11/2/22. www.burlingtonelectric.com The Burlington VT Electrical Department has announced a partnership with ARC Industries of Bridgewater MA to install ARC’s “Orb” WAVT wind turbines at the airport. www.arcindustries.co Next is Kite-based Windpower (KWP). From the German company Kitepower “Up Where the Kites Fly”. www.thebeam.com Just as we pointed out above that there are floating solar farms (Floatovoltaics) there are also floating windfarms. Highwind, for example, in Scotland. 5 turbines @ 6MW each = 30MW. Developer is Statoil. www.greenmatters.com/renewables/2018/10/10/2w9C81/invenergy-solar-wind-power-farm “So, What Exactly is Floating Offshore Wind?” www.greentechmedia.com 10/19/20. More information on floating wind can be found at www.iea.org/reports/offshore-wind-outlook-2019 And as there is Community Solar, there is also Community Wind, although to a much smaller extent. CW promises to increase local energy independence while reducing GHG emissions. CW projects can be jointly owned by a variety of individuals and groups: local small business owners, farmers (who might be able to provide the needed land), local organizations including schools and universities, indigenous tribal groups, rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, faith-based organizations, etc. See www.windustry.org/community_wind . Windustry, in Minnesota, is a nonprofit organization working to create an understanding of wind energy opportunities for rural communities. Windshare (www.windshare.ca) is a cooperative in Toronto that has pioneered CW power in Canada. It developed and built the first urban wind project in North America. Windshare’s turbine, 308’ high, is located on the Lake Ontario waterfront. Built in 2003, it is a 750KW turbine that powers about 250 homes. “Community Wind, Denmark” is an informative Wikipedia entry. It describes how, by 2001, 100,000 families belonged to wind turbine cooperatives, which had installed 86% of all the wind power in Denmark. Re. CW in the UK, take a look at www.communitywindpower.co.uk Also have a look at “Holiday Hill Community Wind” and “Georgia Mountain Community Wind, both at www.verarenewables.com . Youtube has the video “The Future of Solid State Wind Energy” www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNp21zTeCDc&t=668s A pair of good looks at windpower combined with batteries include: Shades of Green: Wind Battery Hybrid System Debuts in Ireland”. www.ge.com 11/26/18 and “Comparing Battery Chemistries For Energy Storage Solutions” www.cleantechnica.com 8/31/22.
