Energy

Wind turbine for when the winds don’t blow

By on • ( 5 Comments )

Years ago, a deposed head of provincial utility BC Hydro said the least-cost solutions to energy needs were conservation and efficiency. While that remains true, recovery of energy now wasted would be advantageous.

Estimable YouTuber Dave Borlace (Just Have a Think) reviewed the Alpha 311 vertical axis wind turbine, a system that can be placed next to a road or rail line and produce electricity for local use even when there is no wind. The company asserts:

Our turbines are attached to existing lighting columns close to roads, where they can harvest the massive, untapped energy produced by moving vehicles.

Think about the last time a car or truck rushed past you. That power and energy is what we’re collecting.

Local energy production serves local demand and reduces transmission costs, and that reduces costs for the end customer.

Just Have a Think is a YouTube channel worth following. Creator Dave Borlace describes its purpose:

This channel seeks to understand the issues that face our civilisation in the 21st Century and focusses on the potential solutions that will save as many lives as possible and hopefully bring about a greater level of equality in the world.

A 2020 academic paper discussed use of vertical axis wind turbines:

Currently, the world is in dire need of the renewable energy sources due to the adverse effects of the conventional ones. Also, many researches have proven that the renewable energy sources are way cheaper than the conventional methods in terms of production. There are many sources around the globe that can generate renewable energy. Many researches have shown that earth has a great capability of wind energy especially along the coastlines.

Categories: Energy, Energy - Wind

Tagged as:

5 replies »

  1. This is B.C. there is almost always wind to turn a turbine. If not set the thing up in any council chamber or the legislature. Ought to work fine. We’ll finally have something useful to do with all that hot air.

    Like

    Reply

    • Don, that is s great concept!

      I was very interested in the questions/comments and answers at the end of the presentation.

      Like

      Reply

  3. I LOVE “Just Have a Think”! So well-presented.

    The windless wind turbine is another brilliant idea, just waiting for adoption. I do prefer the look of a vertical turbine, though there must be some reasons why they aren’t used in large scale wind farms. I’d think that “bird kill” anti-turbine folk (like Trump) would have less to complain about, with vertical units.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • From Business Insider, No, President Trump: Wind turbines aren’t killing ‘all the birds.’ Cats are.

      President Donald Trump repeated a claim he’s made throughout his presidency: that wind turbines are extremely deadly to birds.

      “I know more about wind than you do,” Trump told former Vice President Joe Biden. “It’s extremely expensive, kills all the birds, it’s very intermittent, it’s got a lot of problems.”
      .
      Trump is wrong. Although wind turbines do kill some birds every year, they’re not responsible for many avian deaths relative to other causes, and they certainly do not kill “all the birds.”
      .
      If the President truly wanted to stand up for birds, he’d have targeted cats on the debate stage…

      Like

      Reply

Be on topic and civil. Climate change denial is not welcome. This site uses aggressive spam control. If your comment does not appear, email nrf@in-sights.ca