Innovative Wind Energy Production by Ori Mayer from israel

Our turbines can reduce or eliminate the majority of the negative issues experienced by traditional “lift style” wind turbines. Our technologies are quite, low profile and do not kill birds. They can be mounted on flat roofs or as standalone towers.

Furthermore, they do not require high speed 'smooth winds'. Best of all they can be sited in urban centers (where electricity is used, thus reducing expenses). Maintenance of theses turbines is low cost and their useful life span can last 30 to 40 years (or higher with proper upkeep). The turbines can also be shipped using standard shipping methods. Assembly is on site and is open to be shipped to even remote areas around the world. Our models do not require large cranes to install and can be installed by a local unskilled labor force.

Design Approach:

1. Eliminate the requirement to have high smooth winds in order to work. The issue here is most areas which have continuous high winds are in environmental or scenic vista sensitive areas. This causes conflict between what we as humans want in our natural environment and the need to create clean energy. In other areas where these issues are not a concern the winds are normally of lower speeds. Traditional turbines do not work well below lift wind speeds of 18 to 22 mph.

2. Eliminate the noise and flicker issue. This issue causes problems with the immediate neighbors living near the wind turbines, and is the main reason why turbines cannot operate all day.

3. Eliminate the bird/bats kill problem. This issue is a big one for animal lovers and environmentalist alike. In many cases this issue can derail the plans to build a wind turbine.

4. To be able to install turbines in an urban area where power in consumed. Cities are where most of the energy is used so it makes sense to produce the power there. However, in cities high winds above 20 mph are not common and the vibration of traditional turbines cause can damage to buildings. Also there is rarely smooth air in an urban environment.

5. Improve the reliability problem of traditional wind turbines. Traditional wind turbines have a poor track record of long term reliability. The traditional turbines also have an unacceptable cost of maintenance.

Drag turbines have a linear production of power but do not produce the higher efficiency of lift style turbine at lift speeds. Using this style of turbine eliminates the need for high winds, smooth air and tall towers. Additionally drag turbines simply cannot produce the prerequisite conditions of high noise because they cannot move faster than the wind blows.

Drag style turbines have a critical flaw only 50% of the cross sectional area drives the turbine more over the area which drive into the wind also develops force but in the counter direction. Typically a drag style turbine produces about 15% to 17% efficiency. This means the turbines have to be very large. We addressed this problem by using a ring of stationary stators around the driving impeller to capture the wind and direct it in the direction of desired rotation.

More importantly this allows 100% of the cross sectional to drive the turbine. This also created the vertical design which eliminates the need for direction control (because the turbine can capture the wind from any direction).
In addition, as the wind passes around the turbine it develops flow detachment in the downwind side of the turbine. This helps to clear the wind inside the turbine so the turbine is free to accept new wind and keeps the turbine operating at max efficiency.
This new design also lent itself to a radial truss design which means our turbines can be built very strong and lightweight.

Our turbines do not have vibration, meaning no sound, a lower profile, and the ability to use low wind speeds and turbulent air all mean it is suitable for roof top installment in an urban setting (where people live and use the electricity). Using an existing structure is a duel use of area already occupied and does not require new unused land space.

Urban usage also eliminates the destruction of additional environmental and scenic areas (which is the leading cause of many of the controversial clashes with local residents). The fact it does not harm birds is a big plus to the environmental group opposed to traditional wind turbines because they kill birds.

The turbine is made out of aluminum which is plentiful and recyclable. It is also strong and light weight. By using the truss design we were able to mount the shaft of the turbine on two industrial bearings (top and bottom) outside of the truss for strength and lower maintenance costs. They simply need grease every two to four years (using remote grease fittings for easy access).

Our model also eliminates another source of turbine failure the gear box. Our turbines use a carbon fiber belt drive which is quite and last for decades, reducing another failure point. Shipping is also an issue with tradition turbines so our models are designed to be modular. This makes the turbine available for using standard shipping methods and it can be assembled onsite without the need of cranes.

Turbine can also be painted to blend with the surrounding area. The paint also serves to protect the aluminum from corrosion. This gives the turbine an effective life span of 30 to 40 years or indefinitely with repainting and proper maintenance.