Vortex Bladeless: A wind-turbine without blades

How to generate energy with a bladeless windturbine.

The team from Vortex Bladeless are developing a windturbine without any blades. But can such a system generate energy? When wind blows over cilinder it can generate a repeating pattern of swirling vortices caused by the unsteady separation of flow of a fluid around this body. This causes the object to oscillate and you can use this movement to generate energy.

Von Karman Vortex Street

This theory  is named after the engineer and fluid dynamicist Theodore von Kármán. You might know this principle for such phenomena as the “singing” of suspended telephone or power lines, and the vibration of a car antenna at certain speeds. It can even have a devastating effect.  You can even see this happening from space, like wind blowing over islands. Although I like the idea, I’m a bit sceptic about the efficiency of this system compared to the traditional windturbines. What do you think?

The l’Arbre à Vent, Wind Tree generator

An electricity generating tree.

The French company NewWind R&D released their prototype about their idea of ‘green’ energy. It’s called l’Arbre à vent and is a 11 meter high tree filled with 72 Aeroleaf’s, small leaf shaped turbines. Compared to conventional turbines the Wind Tree claims to be silent and capable of delivering 3kW with a modest breeze.

Specifications Wind Tree

Power: 3,1 kW (at 5 m/s)
Height: 11 meters
Price: € 29500 / $ 33000

Kitepower: Is this Kite an alternative to Wind Turbines?

Generate Electricity with a Kite.

Kitepower is harvesting wind energy by using a kite. This results in a eco and cost friendly solution. Traditional wind turbines are expensive to place and maintain. Kitepower would be a few cents cheaper per kilowatt generated, compared to traditional ways. An average Dutch household consumes 3,340 kilowatts per year, resulting in a 70 euro lower electricity bill.

How does Kitepower work?

The system is operated in periodic pumping cycles, alternating between reel-out and reel-in of the tether. During reel-out, the kite is flying figure-eight maneuvers at high speed (70 to 90 km/h). This creates a high traction force (3.1 kN at 7 m/s wind speed) which is converted into electricity by the drum and the connected 20 kW generator. When reaching the maximum tether length, the kite is de-powered by releasing the rear (steering) lines such that the whole wing rotates and aligns with the apparent wind. Using the drum/generator module as a winch, the kite is now pulled back to the initial position to start the next pumping cycle. De-powering reduces the traction force during reel-in by 80% and for this reason the energy consumed during reel-in is only a fraction of the energy generated during reel-out. Crucial element of the technology is the automatic control and synchronization of the drum/generator module and the flight dynamics of the kite. Source: Kitepower

Other innovative wind turbine alternatives

Ampyx Power: Generate Electricity with the use of unmanned systems (Drones / UAS)







Makani: an energy kite that generates more energy at lower cost