Farming the wind efficiently

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/11/09/fsummit.climate.turbine/

Farming the wind efficiently

By Matthew Knight for CNN

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A typical exchange about wind farms tends to go like this: 'Are you in favor of wind farms?' 'Yes, of course I am...so long as they're nowhere near my house'. Nevertheless, wind turbines are fast-becoming an important piece in the energy puzzle, contributing a growing percentage to our overall energy needs.

Wind power is currently the world's fastest growing energy technology. According to the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) onshore wind farms are on course to provide 5 percent (3000 megawatts) of the UK's energy requirements by 2010. The UK Government -- who are investing around £1 billion in wind farms -- has stated that it wants 10 percent of energy to come from renewable resources by the same date. And by 2020 Europe as a whole hopes to produce 20 percent of its energy through renewable sources.

But opposition to wind power comes from some unlikely sources. The Germans, who are the world's biggest producers of wind energy, remain skeptical about environmental targets.

A 2005 study by the German government's energy agency concluded that wind farms were an expensive and inefficient way of reducing greenhouse gases. And a report in last month's Guardian newspaper suggests that the UK Government are concerned about the practicality of the European Union's renewable energy targets too.

If charges of inefficiency weren't enough, there's the aesthetic to consider as well. Wind farms are ugly say detractors, as well as being noisy and disruptive to the bird population. And smaller wind turbines attached to the rooftops of suburbia don't fair much better, attracting sour-faced glances from disapproving neighbors in the same way satellite dishes did a few years ago.

But new designs which are coming onto the market may make these arguments redundant as engineers create ever more efficient and attractive models.

Viktor Jovanovic's Stormblade Turbine is a revolutionary new design of wind turbine. It looks more like a jet engine than a propeller and promises unparalleled levels of performance and efficiency. Its design allows it to operate in high winds -- unlike its propeller counterpart which is switched off at speeds above 60 mph -- allowing it to harvest the most profitable winds.



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A Wyoming based company, Terra Moya Aqua (TMA) is taking a different approach to wind turbine design. It has designed a vertical axis wind energy turbine which they hope will become the most efficient model on the market. Easier to operate, quieter and free from ground resonance, the company believes their design has many advantages over propeller-style turbines.

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Problems of storing energy are negated once turbines move into towns and cities, as power can flow directly to supply the surrounding area. A UK based company Quiet Revolution Ltd is currently inundated with orders for its new wind turbine.

Initially developed by XCO2 -- a London-based engineering design company -- the QR5 is a five meter high vertical axis wind turbine which utilizes a triple-helix formation. And unlike horizontal axis turbines the QR5 doesn't have to track round to catch the wind. Made from carbon fiber and epoxy resin it is also light, quiet and can, say the company, generate 10,000 kilowatt hours a year.



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[kestrel91316]

1. After a few spectacular grid failures during spectacular weather events,

I think NIMBYism about wind power will cease to be an issue.

[diane in sf]

2. I think they look beautiful, in contrast with belching smokestacks and

radioactive effects such as excess cancers etc. they are gorgeous!

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Dang, too late for a rec. Bookmarked. nt