Researchers' idea will blow you away: 656-foot long blades on wind turbines

[MADem]

1. I'd love to see an illustration....! This seems very different! They will be offshore, too...

The blades would look much different look from today's wind turbines.

They wouldn't face the wind but would go downwind, aligning the blades to flow with the wind instead of fighting it.

And instead of a single stiff blade, each blade would be broken into segments, allowing it to be more easily fabricated.

In addition, the concept would allow the blades to "morph" — spread out when the wind is blowing lightly to capture as much power as possible.

"Like a flower, the petals are spread out, and we reach out and grab as much wind as we can," Loth said.

Conversely, when winds blow with hurricane force the blades would contract, almost like a claw.