5 Weird Wind Turbines (SLIDESHOW)

One way or another, it seems that wind turbines will increasingly be part of our landscapes. It only makes sense, then, that we find a bunch of interesting designs for the things, so that people can choose their own turbines by both function and style.

We tracked down a few weird ones and threw them together below.

CHECK IT OUT:

• • • • • • We're all used to seeing the tall, tri-blade wind turbines like these, but there are plenty of other designs floating around...

Comments

[Quentin Gargan]

05:11 PM on 02/05/2009

Sorry to be a spoilsport, but putting solar PVs on a moving target is downright daft. At any one time, at least half of them are facing the wrong way. At current prices, solar PVs are just too expensive to waste in this way.

Turbines must be effective, and cost effective, if people are to be convinced. Vertical axis turbines are generally too heavy to be lifted to the sort of height where you will find clean wind in which they can work best. I know the point of vertical axis turbines is that they can use wind from any direction, but turbulant wind has problems that affect vertical axis machines too.

So I am sticking to old fashioned turbines on a tall tower. If I want PVs, I'll put them either onto a tracker which follows the sun, or onto a rack facing due south at the optimum angle. If you were putting PVs on your house, would you put half of them on the south roof and half of them on the north??

[bubbuh]

07:52 PM on 02/05/2009

The vertical turbine designs work regardless from which direction the impelling force, air, water, steam, etc, comes. The propeller type turbines automatically swing around to face their motive force. That's the easy part. Been part of the wind technology since the mid-19th century.

[bubbuh]

11:32 AM on 02/05/2009

5 Weird Wind Turbines: Shunned Innanity, Bill O the Clwn, Joe Scabbrow, Griz Matchews, T*rd Blossom.

[JScott]

12:24 AM on 02/05/2009

They have the swirly kind like in the first pic on the grounds of the Milwaukee Art Museum:
http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a85/alexeichler/mich%20up%20trip/01%20milwaukee%20wi%20to%20duluth%20mn/?action=view¤t=image5.jpg

[soulfulnotes]

11:35 PM on 02/04/2009

I'm not a designer or engineer, but I hope that aesthetics are consider if these things are going to be covering our landscape someday.

[nogimmicks]

12:56 AM on 02/05/2009

These monstrous bird-grinders produce as much electricity as a Stair-master (by the way why all those green nuts never came up with an idea to produce electricity while exercising?). This one of the BS directions, just like the failed ethanol burning cars. And it takes a lot of ENERGY and resources to produce and maintain those giant and inefficient devices.

[Prole-NY]

08:07 AM on 02/05/2009

This isn't really your area of expertise is it? You must have made up the energy numbers, and ethanol is still a viable automotive fuel. It is still being used, and will continue to be used in the foreseeable future both in the USA and in other countries.

[irtrad17]

08:31 AM on 02/05/2009

I am amused when naysayers always bring up their concern for the poor birds. Meanwhile republicans are admonishing the stimulus bill for a study on honeybees, which are in peril from hive collapse and by the way are vital for modern agriculture, but if it sounds good just say it, never mind the facts

[JScott]

10:50 AM on 02/05/2009

I saw somewhere where they updated the design of a dutch style windmill. If they had more of those that would really be cool.

And wasn't there a posting a while back that a lot of windfarms now have fewer larger slower turning turbines that are less harmful to raptors, I think they are still working on the bat problem.

[RoonToon]

10:29 PM on 02/04/2009

Why is there no surface differential employed in the designs seen in most wind farms, ie, a slight cupping say with black absorbant sunside and foil reflective backside on caster rotary bases to capture increased wind vectors?
Why do we not utilize the predictable predominantly windy/sunny bridges and install a combo of thousands of small spinnerettes (as described above) combined with direct solar collectors to these spans upgrading them functionally to many mini energy productive units?
Why do we not piggyback for energy production: everytime an elevator goes up, it produces collectable energy on the way down. Remember energy is produced as simply as when something moves or goes around and when electrons get excited to move even just by the sun for example. Electrical energy can be thought of as just electrons scooting thru a wire. Yes We Can !

[research]

10:40 PM on 02/04/2009

You have some interesting ideas there.

Have you heard of the Solar Turbine generators?

It shine concentrated sunlight on the combustion chamber of a jet engine.

It works.

Most elevators have a counter weight, so the system is balanced.

[RoonToon]

10:51 PM on 02/04/2009

Re: elevators I was referring to capturing from the motion not torque.
Glad to hear about SolarTurbines in use. Long ago attempted small (child's pool size) clear plastic dual chamber bowl with deep black and foil chambers with a valve between which forced motion as chambers heated and sought expansion from sun. With gear/s similiar to ole time grain mills driven by water troughs, a circular spinning motion was produced for paddles.

[RoonToon]

10:41 PM on 02/04/2009

Hey Minnesota, How 'bout yo'bridge/s?

[Prole-NY]

09:22 PM on 02/04/2009

The Bluenergy Solar Turbine looks rather wasteful - most of those expensive solar panels will be spending most of their time at a bad angle to the sun, and the turbine isn't particularly efficient for its size and weight either.

It's a shame that all the manufacturers don't have websites with costs, long-term guidelines for economics and independent performance tests. Why hide these details?

[research]

09:57 PM on 02/04/2009

Agree on the solar cells, unless they become really cheap, but the helical turbines are much more efficient in typical home wind sitings.

They work a low speed, with turbulence, and wind from any direction.

[Prole-NY]

11:02 PM on 02/04/2009

If they had proper information on their website there would be no need for conjecture about efficiencies. The information on their comparison table just doesn't make sense - there is too much old-fashioned marketing spin and too little plain honest technical information. Maybe they aren't aiming at technically-minded customers.

Cut-in speed on its own can be a very misleading property - the useful output may be extremely low. It's worthless without an accompanying power curve or power coefficient. It's usually more important to design for optimum output at higher speeds so that the total energy production is maximized.

[vfx]

07:55 PM on 02/04/2009

This would be a much better article if there were details and links to all the manufacturers pictured.

[irtrad17]

07:32 PM on 02/04/2009

The Bluenergy model seems like the best idea. The website is fairly informative as well, even includes a price! SOmething you rarely see on solar sites. Now I just need 35 grand and I'm all set

[gevan]

07:29 PM on 02/04/2009

The verticle alignment of stand in place turbines, rather than those that have to turn to the breeze, seem preferable. I would like to see some of them on all the beachfront highrises on our Jersey shore. Even a small contribution in electrical production would help with the dependence on foreign oil our country has to deal with.

[mergina]

06:56 PM on 02/04/2009

WE STILL DO NOT HAVE ANY IN CHICAGO, AND WE ARE THE WINDY CITY....GO FIGURE.

[surfcitysteven]

11:37 AM on 02/05/2009

You don't want these things in the middle of a city. Rembember one constant. All things without exception, that are made by man, eventually fail. Do you want one of this spinning dervishes that WILL break one day, spinning 60 stories above the sidewalk you and countless others are walking on?

[EarthToZoey]

06:39 PM on 02/04/2009

I really like the "snake" turbine covered in solar cells in the last panel. To me, it's aesthetically pleasing and, as a bonus, combines two renewable energy resources in one! Awesome.

[IllinoisTexan43]

07:34 PM on 02/04/2009

You beat me to it! Incredible design.