Wind Power Limited has released its plans for a new and improved Aerogenerator vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). The company is saying that the new prototype can generate two times more power than the original, while only weighing half as much.
According to the company, “the Aerogenerator X is the result of of an 18‐month feasibility study (called the NOVA project), and is a viable and cost-effective solution for offshore wind power in the UK. The newest version is anticipated to generate twice as much power as their initial design, and because the sails (blades) are made from carbon fiber, to only weigh half as much.”
The researchers are currently working to complete a fully operational 50-kW prototype demonstrator. They will use it to gain a better understanding of the engineering performance and aerodynamic behavior of the design when it’s in use.
Wind Power Limited is planning to complete full tests of the unit in an offshore environment before it begins work on a planned 10-MW version. And it is expecting the demonstrator should be operational by October 2012.
“Wind Power Limited also announced that it is in the process of entering a Memorandum of Understanding with Arup to help continue with the development of the project.”
The 18‐month NOVA project feasibility study was a collaboration by Cranfield University, QinetiQ, Strathclyde University, Sheffield University, and Wind Power Limited. It was funded by the Energy Technologies Institute (a public private partnership comprising BP, Caterpillar, EDF, E.ON, Rolls‐Royce, Shell, BP, EDF, EON, Caterpillar, the UK Government, and Wind Power Limited).
Source: TreeHugger
Image Credits: Wind Power Lmtd. & Grimshaw
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