Wind Science • Page 2 of 5 • Wind Power For Every Home

The Sound of Wind Power

The anti-wind and pro-fossil fuels lobbies frequently make a lot of fuss about the (allegedly) deleterious effects of being in close proximity to operational wind turbines. There is a lot of heat generated and not much light in these debates. But one University is going to grasp the bull by the turbine blades/horns and shed some… Read the rest

Proposed Control System to end Wind Power Oscillation Issues

It has long been a pain in the blades that the changes in wind speed pose a threat to generators in power grids. The changes in wind speed cause “oscillations” which can cause generators to fail, and leading to blackouts- and reputational risk for the wind industry. However in a paper published in late autumn, part-funded… Read the rest

The Wind “‘Owls” No More: A Quieter more Efficient Wind Turbine- Based on Owl Feathers!

The owl. A silent deadly nocturnal killer swooping down on its prey. A wind turbine. What on earth could link them? Let us tell you; a material that mimics the sound-deadening wing structure of owls has been designed to reduce noise in wind turbines. It can also be used on more modest applications such as computer… Read the rest

GEV Solution to Maintenance Personnel Protection

One of the most expensive, and sometimes dangerous aspects of the creation of wind farms, is not just the initial erection and commissioning, but the maintenance that is regularly required to make sure the turbines operate at optimum efficiency. A few companies have tried to perfect some kind of artificial environment to protect the personnel effecting… Read the rest

GEV Show Innovative Wind Turbine Maintenance Rig

As anyone involved in wind power knows, one of the more expensive and time-consuming parts of the business is maintenance of the tower, nacelle and most importantly the blades of a wind turbine. Climbing up the inside of a wind turbine mast (or worse still, the outside for older masts) can be a pain- and there… Read the rest

Three Blades or Two Blades?

Just when we all thought that the three-bladed wind turbine was the industry standard, several major wind-power companies are testing a departure by dropping one of the three blades and spinning the rotor 180 degrees to face downwind. The attraction is that if a two-bladed turbine can produce as much energy as a three-bladed one, the… Read the rest

Flying High: Blimp “BAT” for Alaska!

Alaska is considered to be the top of the world (or at least the top of the American continent) and it will soon be on top of the wind turbine stakes. The city of Fairbanks, Alaska, will soon have a resident in the form of the world’s highest wind turbine called Altaeros. The helium-filled turbine blimp… Read the rest

Harnessing Wind Power in New Ways

Dr. Daryoush Alleai is an engineer and pioneer and founder of a company called Sheerwind, which has developed an innovative wind turbine called Invelox that has no blades. Here is a glimpse of his thought processes that led to the creation of the bladeless turbine: “What if you could scoop the air? Scoop it and move… Read the rest

Educating and Encouraging Demand Management from Electricity Users

One of the problems with wind power and the grid at the moment, is that it is difficult to store large amounts of excess power generated by wind farms for when demand is low, to be drawn into the grid as needed when demand is high. While a mixed economy of nuclear, fossil fuels and renewables… Read the rest

Turbines Creating Electricity

While it is well-known that wind turbines create electricity when the blades rotate in a wind and are connected to the grid, did you also know that they can have a talent for calling down electricity from the heavens. Not a great deal of research has been conducted into the effects of electric storms on wind… Read the rest