Bladeless windmills: A new source of wind energy?

By Tyler Falk | April 2, 2013

Imagine a windmill. It probably looks like this or this. And most alternatives have blades that turn when the wind blows against them. But in urban environments this model isn’t ideal.

Now there’s a windmill design that looks more like a contemporary sculpture than an electricity-generating device. Delft University of Technology developed a windmill, called EWICON (Electrostatic Windenergy Convertor), that captures wind energy without visibly moving parts. So how exactly does a bladeless windmill generate electricity? Basically, electrically charged water droplets are moved by the wind creating more electricity. The video below explains the concept in more detail.

The windmill was designed by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo, who touts the benefits of their model as: decreased wear and tear, reduced maintenance costs, and no noise pollution or shadow casting.

The concept is still in the development stage, so there are few specific details like how much it could cost commercially or how much power it can generate, but the first model was recentlyerected on the Delft campus.

Still, it could be a cost-effective solution. And not just in cities, the university argues:

Google Reels In Wind-Kite Firm Makani

James Montgomery, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com 
May 23, 2013  

Extending its already deep reach into renewable energy, Google reportedly has acquired a startup and its flying-kite wind turbines that promise to tap better wind energy resources at higher altitudes with far lower costs and more efficient output.

Google, no stranger to clean energy as both a purchaser and investor of large-scale wind and solar power, reportedly has acquired Makani Power and its flying kite-design wind turbine, after years of being a major investor in the firm. Makani would be paired up with the Google X research labs, whose early-stage offspring include driverless cars and Google Glass. BusinessWeek's Brad Stone says Google CEO Larry Page finally approved the deal which was proposed a year ago, with the stipulation that they must "crash at least five of the devices in the near future" — presumably amid efforts to prove and improve the technology's performance and reliability.

We've looked at Makani and similar high-flying wind technology innovations in the past, but here's the Makani pitch in a nutshell: its Airborne Wind Turbine (AWT) flies in a big circle within stronger winds at 800-2,000-foot altitudes, with rotors designed to act as both a turbine and as a propeller; direct-drive generators send electricity back down its tether to a ground station. The AWT could be reeled in and "perched" and then reeled out again during extended periods of low wind or bad weather, or for maintenance. It's especially well suited for deployment in areas less favorable to traditional tower-based designs, such as lower-wind-speed areas and offshore (especially deeper water).

Makani says the AWT delivers about twice the energy per unit of capacity than conventional turbines,producing power at half the cost, and using 90 percent less material. The company touts a cost of energy competitive with conventional wind in the best existing wind sites (e.g. Kansas), and less than half the price in other areas such as offshore. Individual power output is small; models tested so far are 30-kW with plans to scale up to 600-kW, but conceivably many could be strung to collectively produce a few megawatts.

New Turbine Technology: Key Players On- and Offshore

By David Appleyard, Chief Editor, Renewable Energy World International
April 11, 2013 

 

Page 1 of 3

LONDON -- With annual market growth of almost 10 percent, and cumulative capacity growth of about 19 percent according to the latest figures from the Global Wind Energy Council, the wind sector continued to make robust progress in 2012. But while these figures suggest a relatively buoyant market for installations, perhaps a more accurate way to judge the health of the wind sector is to consider investment in R&D, and more specifically the products of that research, development and testing.

Indeed, alongside the expansion of wind markets - notably in Asia and the US, with Europe not far behind - wind technology also continued to show progress over the last year. Key trends appear to focus on larger offshore machines, new versions of existing turbines that have been upgraded and modified to suit a wider range of wind regimes and operating conditions, and a number of developments that aim to reduce installation and operations and maintenance costs.

For example, in January this year A2SEA's new second generation vessel, Sea Installer, erected two Siemens 6-MW test turbines at DONG Energy's demonstration site Gunfleet Sands 3.

“The turbines are getting bigger, and the future sites are further out to sea. This calls for more flexible vessels,” says Jens Frederik Hansen, CEO at A2SEA A/S. The vessel was launched from Qidong in China where it had spent two years under construction.

Using Solar Energy to Create Wind Power

Derek Markham
Technology / Wind Technology
February 4, 2013

© Clean Wind Energy Tower
A new type of wind power plant is in the works, and it is claimed to be able to produce clean energy from the sun and the wind with virtually no carbon footprint, fuel consumption, or waste production. And not only that, it purportedly uses heat from the sun to produce its own wind, which would make this new type of plant desirable in areas with low or inconsistent winds.

The Clean Wind Energy Downdraft Tower is a skyscraper-sized hollow cylinder that uses the natural downdraft tendencies of air by spraying water (as a fine mist) across the top opening of the tower to cool the hot dry incoming air. As the water evaporates and cools the air, it becomes denser and heavier than the outside air, and then falls through the tower at speeds up to (and above) 50 mph. Once the faster moving air reaches the bottom of the tower, it is channeled through wind turbines in the base of the tower, generating electricity.

READ MORE: The Future of Wind Power: 9 Cool Innovations

In addition, if the Tower is located in areas conducive to direct wind harvesting, the exterior of the Tower could be covered with "vertical wind vanes" to help capture prevailing winds to produce supplemental power.

According to an article about the towers on KMPH,

"One tower is equivalent is to at least one nuclear power plant. But here's the big difference of course. You don't have nuclear issues, you don't have the safety issues, you don't have spent nuclear rods, you don't have the storage issue. These towers apparently they last forever. All you're using is water, evaporation, wind gradients and presto! You do have the energy that's produced through turbines and generators. So what we're talking about is water and wind at free will." - George Elliott, scientist and consultant for the Wind Energy Tower

The company is in the running as a semi-finalist for the Future Energy Pitching Event at the upcoming ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit in Washington D.C., which could potentially jumpstart the implementation of their new clean energy technology.

Breakthrough could carry solar, wind power long distances

By Laura Shin | December 12, 2012

We know we have a problem with carbon emissions mucking up the climate.

But switching over to renewable energy isn’t that easy. For one, many places that are good for making renewable energy — windy plains or sunny deserts — aren’t necessarily near big cities, where the energy is needed.

And what happens when you try to transport energy hundreds of miles from the energy source to the big city? It loses some of its power. At least today’s dominant form of power, alternating current (AC), does.

But Thomas Edison championed direct current (DC), and it looks like he might be vindicated.

Up till now, DC was not used on large power grids because of the energy it loses when carried over long distances and for fear it would be prone to catastrophic breakdowns. (More on that below.)

But a new type of power, high-voltage DC, or HVDC, could carry power long distances with minimal loss — and a new device called a hybrid HVDC breaker would help prevent those huge breakdowns.

Developed by Swiss power technology company ABB, the breaker has only been tested in the lab, but ABB claims the hybrid HVDC breaker will make possible “the grid of the future,” which National Geographic News describes as “a massive, super-efficient network for distributing electricity that would interconnect not just nations but multiple continents.”

What the hybrid HVDC breaker is and why it’s important

The thing about HVDC, or any direct current for that matter, is that, unlike AC, it’s always on.

That makes it much trickier to regulate.

“When you have a large grid and you have a lightning strike at one location, you need to be able to disconnect that section quickly and isolate the problem, or else bad things can happen to the rest of the grid,” such as a catastrophic blackout, ABB chief technology officer Prith Banerjee told Nat Geo News. “But if you can disconnect quickly, the rest of the grid can go on working while you fix the problem.”

Wind energy innovation takes off, with airborne technology breakthrough by Sophie Vorrath

Dutch cleantech group Ampyx Power delivered a world first breakthrough in the emerging ‘Airborne Wind Energy’ industry last Thursday, completing a fully automated test flight of over 50 minutes with its PowerPlane prototype.

The successful test flight proves the concept that wind can be converted into energy using an automatically controlled glider plane, which is then delivered via a tether to an electricity generator on the ground. It also reminds us that innovation in the wind industry is still a happening thing, with holds plenty more promise for the renewable future.

Companies like GE are doing it on a fairly basic, but important level – GE announced last week that it was co-developing (with NREL) "architectural fabrics" for the manufacture of new turbine blades that could cut price of wind energy by 25-40 per cent. But in the more loftily innovative sub-sectors there is also plenty of activity.

Ampyx Power's energy generating glider plane, pictured below, looks a lot less otherworldly-looking than some of its competitors' prototypes – see the Google-backed Makani Airborne Wind Turbine, and the blimp-like device from Boston-based Alteros Energies. It has a 5.5 meters wingspan and produces, on average, 6kW during the flight, with peaks of over 15kW – although the company says that the tests were performed in relatively low wind speeds, and that during stronger winds the plane could produce peak power of 50-60kW.

Ampyx says it has started scaling up the technology to 15m wingspan PowerPlane, and that its first commercial system will produce as much power as a mid-sized conventional wind turbine with a rotor diameter of 50 meters, and at a lower cost than most.

Ampyx's managing director, Wolbert Allaart, says the company cuts costs through its relatively conservative use of materials. Combined, the glider plane and tether weigh less than 400 kilograms, compared to the tower and blades of a mid-sized wind turbine, which together weigh about 120,000 kilograms.

"And since our power generator is on the ground instead of on top of a steel tower, foundations required for the system are much smaller. In essence, we are replacing steel and concrete by advanced technology,” he says.

Allaart says that after a second scale-up step, the company hope to achieve cost levels which can compete, "without subsidies, with any other form of electricity generation, including coal and gas-fired power plants."

$4m ‘superwire’ could blow offshore wind energy market wide open by Tina Casey

CleanTechnica

Researchers at the University of Houston have just won a new round of funding for a $4 million wind power project that is on track to solve a key wind energy transportation conundrum: how to use superconducting wire without running afoul of the magnetic field generated by wind turbines. The new grant of $900,000 from the Department of Energy comes on top of two earlier DOE grants totaling $3.1 million. If the project is a success, it will lead to the commercial production of low-cost superconducting wire for wind turbine generators, and that will open up the field for low-cost wind power, especially offshore wind turbines.Superconductors and Magnetic FieldsWire made of superconducting material can transport an electrical current with virtually no resistance, so it is far more efficient than conventional copper wire.

That would seem to make superconducting wire an ideal material for wind turbine generators, but the problem is that wind turbines kick up a magnetic field.

The field creates “flux lines” in the superconducting wires, resulting in significantly lower performance.

The University of Houston team, led by mechanical engineering professor Venkat “Selva” Selvamanickam, has the goal of developing a high-temperature superconducting wire that can achieve significant gains in efficiency despite the magnetic field, and compete with copper wire on cost.

The result will be a powerful but lightweight, low-maintenance, high-efficiency generator with a power rating of 10 megawatts or more, which would be ideal for use in offshore wind turbines.

On Track for Low Cost Wind Power

So far, the three-year project has far outpaced expectations. The end goal is to achieve a 400% performance improvement in superconducting wire, with an interim goal of 50% by the end of 2012.

Portable 50kW wind turbine unveiled by Sophie Vorrath

CleanTechnica

Uprise Energy has developed a wind turbine that is portable and easier to maintain in numerous ways. It is called the Uprise Portable Power Center. By portable, the company means that it can actually be moved without digging it out of the ground and completely pulling it apart, but it’s still quite a beast.

Normally, wind turbines have to be assembled from many parts and then mounted with their bases in the ground or on a sturdy surface. In order to move them, they are either demolished due to their almost permanent installations (for large-scale turbines), or they have to be dug out of the ground, or unbolted from their surfaces.

What makes this new turbine stand out is the fact that it can literally fold itself back into a container the size of a standard 40′ ISO shipping container and be driven to its destination with a tow truck.

When it reaches its destination, contractors can put the blades on at ground level, and then it erects itself.

Can bacteria make wind energy more reliable?

Could these be the gas and oil fields of the future?  (credit: phault)

One of the biggest problems with wind energy is that it is unreliable. Wind blows when it wants to and not when we need the electricity that can be made from it. This means you need overcapacity in other energy productions plants to make up for the short-fall and that is expensive. could a team of microbiologists from Stanford and Pennsylvania State universities have a solution?

The team is raising microbes that have the amazing ability to convert electricity to methane gas. If the lab experiments can be replicated on an industrial scale then the problem of storing the power generated by wind turbines for later use could be solved. 

It is almost impossible to store electricity at the scale needed to be able to supply the national network so electricity generated by wind turbines at times of low demand is not of much use. If it’s possible to convert it to methane gas then it can easily be stored and used later. 

Corn ethanol, for example, requires acres of cropland, as well as fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation and fermentation. Methanogens are much more efficient, because they metabolize methane in just a few quick steps.

The scientists’ goal is to create large microbial factories made up of these methanogens that will transform clean electricity from solar, wind or nuclear power into renewable and pure methane gas and other valuable chemical compounds for industry.

“Most of today’s methane is derived from natural gas, a fossil fuel,” said Alfred Spormann, a professor of chemical engineering and of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford. “And many important organic molecules used in industry are made from petroleum. Our microbial approach would eliminate the need for using these fossil resources.

“The whole microbial process is carbon neutral,” he explained. “All of the CO₂ released during combustion is derived from the atmosphere, and all of the electrical energy comes from renewables or nuclear power, which are also CO₂-free.“

Wind turbine net capacity factor: Is 50% the new normal? by Zachary Shahan

CleanTechnica

Anyone who hangs around in the comments section of sites covering wind energy knows one thing — clean energy haters love to talk about wind turbine capacity factor. In particular, they love to chant the now quite untrue claim that wind turbines have a capacity factor of 20-30%.If you’re not familiar with capacity factor, it is how much electricity a power plant actually produces compared to how much it would produce if it operated at full nameplate capacity 100% of the time.No power plant operates at 100 per cent capacity factor. NREL’s new Transparent Cost Database shows the following capacity factors:

– Natural gas combustion turbines — Minimum: 10%; Median: 80%; Maximum: 93%

– Natural gas combined cycle — Minimum: 40%; Median: 84.6%; Maximum: 93%

– Coal, pulverized & scrubbed — Minimum: 80%; Median: 84.6%; Maximum: 93%

– Nuclear — Minimum: 85%; Median: 90%; Maximum: 90.24%

– Biopower — Minimum: 75%; Median: 84%; Maximum: 85%

– Hydropower — Minimum: 35%; Median: 50%; Maximum: 93.2%

– Enhanced geothermal — Minimum: 80%; Median: 90%; Maximum: 95%

– Solar PV – Minimum: 16%; Median: 21%; Maximum: 28%

– Offshore wind – Minimum: 27%; Median: 43%; Maximum: 54%

– Onshore wind – Minimum: 24%; Median: 40.35%; Maximum: 50.6%

Where Does Capacity Factor Fit Into Things?

Now, before moving on to the focus of this article, here’s one more thing to note:

Clean energy haters love to talk about capacity factor because it’s clearly a metric wind, solar, and hydro don’t win at (though, geothermal and biopower actually do very well). However, capacity factor by itself is really not that important. What’s important is the total cost of producing electricity. In the energy field, levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is one of the most important metrics. This is “an estimate of total electricity cost including payback of initial investment and operating costs,” as NREL writes.

Wind Turbine Blades Push Size Limits

By Chris Webb, Contributor
10 July 2012   |   6 Comments

Researchers in Europe and the US are exploring how wind turbine blades could be scaled up for 10 MW or even 20 MW wind turbines.

 

LONDON -- Using sophisticated modelling techniques and comparing the results with existing turbine technology, a 2011 report set out to see if 20-MW offshore turbines could become a reality. The report, entitled Upwind: Design Limits and Solutions for Very Large Wind Turbines, compared theoretical 20-MW designs with present technology. 'Yes, we have the technology but the economics will decide. Costs models will tell us the way forward,' says Bernard Bulder of the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN).

The goal of a larger turbine — to increase efficiency by capturing more wind energy using longer blades — was achievable, the report said. The US$33 million UpWind project determined to what extent such turbines are feasible, and whether they make financial sense.
A look into the near future was offered early last year, when Danish company Vestas debuted its 7-MW offshore giant. In October 2011 DONG Energy announced it would test the turbine, with plans to install six at a demonstration site in 2013. Also in 2011, GE Global Research, the technology development arm of General Electric, announced it was to partner with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop a generator to support large-scale wind turbines in the 10-15 MW range. Work has begun on the first phase of the two-year, $3 million project funded by the US Department of Energy.
But the EU-backed Upwind research project is a step forward in assessing the challenges ahead. Made up of 48 partners, half from the private sector and half from the research and academic sector, UpWind is the largest public/private partnership designed for the wind energy sector.
UpWind demonstrates that a 20 MW design is feasible. No significant problems were found when upscaling wind turbines to that size, provided some key innovations are developed and integrated. These innovations come with extra cost, and the cost:benefit ratio depends on a complex set of parameters. The project resulted, for instance, in the specification of mass:strength ratios for future very large blades securing the same load levels as the present generation of wind turbines. Thus, in principle at least, future large rotors and other turbine components could be realised without cost increases, assuming the new materials are within certain set cost limits.

Designing wind turbines for a country that isn’t windy

By Robert van Waarden on 10 July 2012

Climate Central

Part 10 in a series

“I know that 70 per cent of the area in the world has a low wind speed. I thought, if we want to promote the wind machine, 70 per cent is a lot of the world,” says Dr Wirachai Roynarin (or Dr Roy as he is more commonly known).

Dr Roy is a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at RMUTT in Bangkok and owner of Prapai Technologies, a company that specialises in low wind-speed turbines. He grew up in a small farming family, where he learned to respect the land, before going to England to study. He returned to Thailand believing he could help his country, and he set his sights on the wind.

He is excited about the prospects for wind energy in Thailand, but insists that it must be done correctly. A few years ago, during the fuel crisis in Thailand, wind energy suddenly became popular. Companies began importing and installing wind turbines that were largely not suitable for the low wind speeds of Thailand.

“When they bring windmills from abroad, they look like a monument, they don’t rotate. Until a storm comes, then they rotate. They are not designed for most of our region,” Dr Roy says.

In his view, a solution lies in low speed, decentralized wind turbines. These are turbines that can be put anywhere and are small, light structures, like ants feeding the grid. The first major project of Prapai is the King’s Wind Farm, a 200kw wind park made up of 20 individual 10kw wind turbines. The park is about 100m square and located in the village where the King of Thailand spends his summers.

The King himself supported the construction and the electricity is directed to the community and the grid. It has been deemed a success, although not without difficulties. Dr. Roy and his team have had to grapple with earthquakes and monsoon gusts. When I visited the site, workers were busy in the 42-degree heat repairing three turbines that were damaged from a recent monsoon.

The wind farm was developed on a previously dry, deserted field, and for Dr. Roy this is very important.

The Race for Alt Energy

3,000-foot Downdraft Energy Tower Planned by Israeli Professors for Mexico-US Border

Brian Nitz

May 18th 2012

Green Prophet

Illustration of downdraft wind energy tower

Professor Dan Zaslavsky and Dr. Rami Guetta from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology are trying to develop an idea first patented by Phillip R. Carlson in 1975. In what is known as a downdraft energy tower, water is sprayed onto solar heated air at the top of a hollow tower. Now cooled and denser, this air falls rapidly to the bottom of the tower where it drives turbines and generates electricity. Annapolis Maryland-based Clean Wind Energy Tower, Inc. (CWET) has plans to build two such towers near the US-Mexican border in San Luis, Arizona. At 3000 feet, the tower’s height will surpassBurj Khalifa—currently the world's tallest building— but unlike most skyscrapers, this one is designed to give more than it takes, in the form of clean electricity.

At first glance, this idea seems incredibly simple when compared with mile deep oil rigs and nuclear reactors. But there are significant technical challenges to building any 3000 foot high structure, much more so when the tower contains an artificial thundercloud and generates electricity. 

Airborne Wind Turbines?

Yes, the day is not far off when reaching for sky is the new motto for generating cost-effective renewable energy. Initially it was considered to be technically non-viable to tap high-altitude winds. But today, technically-advanced materials and innovative computer know-how are giving new life to this scheme with innovative autonomous aerial structures using wind energy to generate power.

Joby Energy, Inc. model:
Joby Energy Inc., exploring wind turbine technology, has developed a computer-controlled multi-winged kite-like structure which floats around 2000ft height for generating power. Mr Bevirt is the inventor of this aerial kite. The DC power generated is transferred to ground through tether to a ground station to be converted to AC power ready for consumption via a power grid.

Advantages of high altitude wind turbines:
Extolling the virtues of these autonomous aerial power generators, Mr. Bevirt said, “Operating at five times the height of a conventional turbine increases both wind speed and consistency resulting in more power, more often.” Professor William Moomaw, Director,Centre for International Environment and Resource Policy at Tufts University, Massachusetts, agreed, “The higher speeds at the greater altitudes should produce significantly more electricity.”

Is the ‘Wind Lens’ a Green Energy Breakthrough? | Eartheasy Blog

For decades we have seen advances in wind and solar energy technologies which bring us closer to the ideal of affordable, renewable green energy. But with each advance in technology there seem to be limitations which leave the green energy sector in ‘two steps forward, one step back’ mode. A new design for wind turbines, however, may be a green energy breakthrough which is simple enough to live up to its expectations.

Solar energy setbacks such as the recent Solyndra debacle are not only a loss for the individual company, but make funding all the more difficult for future solar energy development initiatives. While the cost of solar panels has been going down, to the benefit of individual homeowners, we are still a ways off from having solar energy significantly incorporated into the U.S. national power grid.

What factors affect the output of wind turbines?

What factors affect the output of wind turbines?
Wind energy is undoubtedly one of the cleanest forms of producing power from a renewable source. There is no pollution, there is no burning of fossil fuels, and unless something very drastic happens, you don’t run out of wind. But it’s not like you can erect a wind turbine anywhere and it will start generating power for you. There are lots of factors that can make an impact on the amount of energy you can generate out of wind.

Is It Possible To Convert To 100% Wind Power?

Is It Possible To Convert To 100% Wind Power?

With all the talk of going green, the question had been thrown out many times if there will ever be a time that we can use nothing but renewable energy to power our world. A small island in Denmark is trying answer that question with a resounding yes as they power up every single day via nothing but wind power. The Danish island is the ideal setting as the wind literally never stops blowing. The North Sea offers the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the winds that come off of the sea and for them to use wind power as their primary source of power. As a matter of fact, the wind power that they are using is their ONLY source of power.

Floating wind turbines could get Great Lakes test

Floating wind turbines could get Great Lakes test

april 22, 2012

Two Michigan universities are joining with a Seattle-based business to pursue the idea of offshore floating wind turbines for the Great Lakes.

Two Michigan universities are joining with a Seattle-based business to pursue the idea of offshore floating wind turbines for the Great Lakes.

Flying Wind Farms: Future Power Harvesters

Flying Wind Farms: Future Power Harvesters

How would you like swarms of kite-like airborne turbines spinning at high altitudes sending power down via nano-tube cable tethers to generate power for your community? This could very well be a true picture of future power harvesters according to NASA. A federal fund of $100,000 is being reserved for exploring these high-altitude, nano-tube cable tethered, above-ground wind farms. The project will check all aspects as well as weigh the pros and the cons of a wind farm such as this one.