Cattail-Like Windstalks Generate Electricity By Blowing in the Wind
What if a wind energy technology could be beautiful, silent and as much a threat to flying creatures as trees? A lovely new design called Windstalks by New York design firm Atelier DNA accomplishes all of those things.
The concept resembles tall cattails that generate electricity by moving with the wind. Each stalk is a 180-feet-tall carbon-fiber flexible poll that is a foot wide at the base, tapering to two-inches wide at the top. Each is secured in a 33 to 66-feet-wide concrete base. The stalks are outfitted with layers of electrodes and ceramic discs made from piezoelectric material. As the stalks blow in the wind, the bending motions compress the discs and an electric current is generated.
The concept won the Land Art Generator competition sponsored by Masdar City. For the Masdar design, Atelier envisioned a wind farm featuring 1,203 stalks covering 280,000 square feet that could function like a park. The bases of the stalks would be sloped to collect rainwater and foster plant growth below and the stalk network would use a hydroelectric pumped water storage system for storing excess energy for times when the wind was slow or stopped.
Atelier expects the design to generate the same amount of electricity as a conventional wind turbine with the advantage of being able to be installed in much denser arrangements. Like vertical axis wind turbines, the Windstalks will be able to generate more energy in a smaller area than horizontal axis wind turbines that need lots of space between each unit.
via Discovery News