New design for wind power uptake

2010/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Energia

The wind turbines have propellers to take advantage of wind energy. But this could change thanks to a new design recently presented by the engineers of the Caltech institute. The new design, instead of using the propellers, receives the thrust of the wind through a cylindrical structure.

In addition to the appearance of the turbine, the position is different: the conventional propeller generators focus on the horizontal position, while the Calteche design generators have the vertical axis. The advantage of this new system is that one wind turbine can be installed close to another. In fact, the whirlwind of air produced by the conventional generators annoys the generators of the area, while in the case of the new design, the whirlwind of air produced by a generator reinforces the movements of the nearby generators.