Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumWIND POWER WITHOUT THE BLADES: BIG PICS
Noise from wind turbine blades, inadvertent bat and bird kills and even the way wind turbines look have made installing them anything but a breeze. New York design firm Atelier DNA has an alternative concept that ditches blades in favor of stalks. Resembling thin cattails, the Windstalks generate electricity when the wind sets them waving. The designers came up with the idea for the planned city Masdar, a 2.3-square-mile, automobile-free area being built outside of Abu Dhabi. Atelier DNAs "Windstalk"project came in second in the Land Art Generator competition a contest sponsored by Madsar to identify the best work of art that generates renewable energy from a pool of international submissions.
http://news.discovery.com/tech/wind-power-without-the-blades.html
left on green only
(1,484 posts)I wonder if it might also be possible to install this type of wind farm in the shallow waters off coastal land?
kristopher
(29,798 posts)You can only harvest the energy that is embodied in the wind. If you have a collection area that is small, you are going to get a small amount of energy per unit. The reason large bladed wind turbines are large bladed wind turbines to to raise them higher off the ground where the wind is stronger and to increase the volume of wind that passes through the collection area.
Small collection area wind concepts work in the sense that they produce electricity, but building any of them would have to be almost free to make it cost effective.
Response to kristopher (Reply #11)
MindMover This message was self-deleted by its author.
annabanana
(52,791 posts)Randy:
So... as wind energy matures... it grows hair in strange places...
POWER PUBERTY.
(an honorary DUzy for sure)
valerief
(53,235 posts)Politicalboi
(15,189 posts)A lot better that the huge blades. Only thing, is how long will it take skateboarders to take over. LOL!
eppur_se_muova
(36,317 posts)AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)Speck Tater
(10,618 posts)customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)I'd sure like to see one built someplace to check out the financial feasibility of it. Existing wind technology is well-known in the cost/benefit ratios, but that's why we do research.
demosincebirth
(12,551 posts)jtuck004
(15,882 posts)I really like how they want to flow liquid around in the base to store and release power.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)I'm guessing this one was dead on arrival.
joshcryer
(62,287 posts)Yes there could be plant life, and it could even potentially cover up the concrete foundations, but I find it to be a waste of space.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)sarcasm thingy.
OKIsItJustMe
(19,938 posts)It's important to keep in mind that this is intended to be a work of art as much as (if not more than) an energy system:
http://www.landartgenerator.org/blagi/archives/902
NickB79
(19,297 posts)Though I'd imagine barnacle infestations might negatively impact the rods ability to generate electricity.