Sunday, 8 August 2010

Bird-Friendly Wind Power

The Tesla-Inspired 'Solar Aero' Bladeless Wind Turbine

Rockstar The virtually silent, fully enclosed, Solar Aero bladeless wind turbine is safe for birds. The turbine design is based on a 1913 Tesla patent and has been specially modified for wind generation.

Not only does the Solar Aero bladeless wind turbine design preserve safe avian air space, it can generate power for about half the cost of power generated by bladed wind turbines. The patented design holds promise as a rooftop-mounted micro-wind power generator.

Solar Aero Research, New Hampshire, has patented a bladeless wind turbine with a mesh-covered air inlet, which poses no danger to bats and birds. Nor will it disrupt radar used by air traffic controllers and the military. The Fuller Wind Turbine, developed over four years with £215,000 of private investment, harnesses the viscosity of air passing over the rims of thin discs to generate energy. Designed with urban rooftops in mind, the entire housing swivels almost silently as it tracks the wind (forumforthefuture.org)