windturbine (r)evolution ahead!

0-impact built environment

windturbine (r)evolution ahead!

 windturbine (r)evolution txt

Windturbines create a huge impact on materials resources. ( its even doubtful if we can create a sustainable energy world, given the resource and energy needs for that. (Kleijn, 2012, book review to follow) The construction however can be much more resource efficient if we move to open structure towers (which the steel industry does not like). Even better are windturbines made of biobased materials, as was demonstrated last year by the 1,5 MW Timbertower in Germany: a full tower in wood! The timber tower developers now started a even more daring pilot with a wooden foundation for a 100 meter tower! This way not only the steel but also the concrete is replaced. http://www.timbertower.de/produkte/

Even more interesting are flying turbines, or Air borne turbines: These fly like a kite much higher, with a constant wind, and therefore constant flow of energy, reducing storage need, and moreover very materials efficient: upto 90% materials reduction and double energy output . Still only as prototype available, but development is speeding up. A recent conference was held in Delft, Netherlands, and impressive papers and information are available now: http://awec2015.tudelft.nl/presentations.html

 

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