Michael Kanellos
Is the future of wind turbines with jet engines? May 15, 2008 at 12:08 PM
A spin-out from a Massachusetts aerospace company has come up with a novel wind turbine that it says can harvest two to three times the amount of power from the wind than conventional turbines.
The FloDesign Wind Turbine is based around the design of jet engines, something that its parent company FloDesign designs. (Some of FloDesign’s ideas are incorporated into the Gulfstream II, a jet I have never been inside of.) The system effectively channels wind into a vortex, which then spins a kitchen-fan like set of blades that then help convert wind to power. Conventional turbines can’t really suck air in like this. The FloDesign can also harvest power in low-wind conditions. The design in some ways is similar to a tidal turbine touted by Ireland’s OpenHydro.
FloDesign hopes to have a prototype running in about 18 months.
If it works, it could ameliorate some of the NIMBY problems surrounding wind power. Neighborhood groups often oppose the construction of wind turbines because they are tall and the blades can present problems for birds. (Investment banks and manufacturers, however, love to put wind turbines in their alt energy ads.) The wingspan on some offshore turbines is as long as the wingspan of a jet. FloDesign’s turbines are less obtrusive and safer for wildlife, the company says. They also aren’t as noisy.
And if it harvests wind like the company says it can, it could allow the price of wind power to drop even more. Now, wind power is the renewable closest in cost to conventional electricity, according to some estimates and the location where the turbines are placed.
Like the solar industry, the wind industry right now is suffering from a backlog of orders. Put in an order for turbines now, and you might not get them until 2010. If FloDesign can begin to mass produce turbines, particularly with fewer raw materials, it could help out wind farm developers. The technology, though, will likely have to undergo several tests before developers start buying.
The company won two technology awards this week from MIT (netting it $300,000) and is reportedly speaking to Kleiner, Perkins about a $10 million investment, according to Xconomy.
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Or would you consider what this guy has going?
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/twenty-five-turbines-are-better-than-one-the-sky-serpent/1172
Totally new wind power design, more affordable, and easier to build.
Too good to be true? I can’t wait to see where it goes!
[...] to a recent article from Greentech Media, a Massachusetts aerospace company called FloDesign is working on a wind turbine concept that could [...]
I believe the FloDesign is a little late. A company Called Future Energy Solutions Inc. has patented (along with other patents and International patents pending) and has an operational wind turbine called the Wind Tamer. The patent they have looks and reads just like the animation described in FloDesign’s video. They have independent testing showing that the Wind Tamer is 28% efficient right now and believe they will be above 35% before production starts in the fall of this year. The best part -it starts up with less than 5 MPH wind with no maximum (tested up to 75 mph) and only has to be 12-15 feet of the ground for safety reasons. To see this go to http://www.windtamerturbines.com and see for yourself.
[...] ????? ???????? According to a recent article from Greentech Media, a Massachusetts aerospace company called FloDesign is working on a wind turbine concept that could [...]
[...] to a recent article from Greentech Media, a Massachusetts aerospace company called FloDesign is working on a wind turbine concept that could [...]