DiscoveryNews reports that a New York design firm is planning to harvest energy from wind using compression rather having it blow through a blade and turn a turbine.
Resembling giant hair follicles, the proposed 180-foot high stalks would bend in the wind which in turn would compress piezoelectric materials, a substance that builds up a charge when pressure is applied.
The designers came up with the idea for the planned city Masdar, a 2.3-square-mile, automobile-free area being built outside of Abu Dhabi.
In the proposal for Masdar, the Windstalk wind farm spans 280,000 square feet. Based on rough estimates, said Núñez-Ameni the output would be comparable to that of a conventional wind farm covering the same area.
Hat tip, @tomfletcherbc
2 Comments
Fehertom64
Would not be cheaper to press liquid that moves through tubes inside and make into motion some turbines? Anyway, it is not a strange idea.
inOr
Imitation of nature. Beautiful idea. Let’s see if it gets built.