Typhoon turbine

[rcjordan]

Discount the 50 year hype crap.

I like VAWT design but they trade off efficiency. Still, if you're going to attempt to harness 100mph+ winds, you need to get away from feathering props like the popular Danish models do.  It'll be interesting to see if this progresses.

http://www.geek.com/tech/japanese-engineer-creates-a-wind-turbine-that-loves-typhoons-1672663/

[littleman]

It is an interesting design.  I like the way the barrels spool up at lower wind speeds and then the whole egg-beater kicks in when the wind picks up more.  The efficiency claims are pretty good for an unconventional design.

[ergophobe]

This highlights the need for storage. He says one typhoon could power Japan for 50 years, but how do you store 50 years worth of electricity?

I suppose in an ideal case, you throw most of the energy away on a fairly inefficient conversion (such as generating liquid hydrogen) and then Japan actually becomes an energy exporter.

[rcjordan]

I've been following vawts for about 8-10 yrs now.  For residential use, the design has a lot going for it, imo. But, vawts haven't been successful in general. Good coverage here:
http://www.wind-works.org/cms/index.php?id=116

But of all the vawt designs, the Lenz turbine strikes me as the most bang for the buck and DIY-friendly.

http://www.windstuffnow.com/main/vawt.htm

[bill]

Don't see too many wind turbines in Japan. The typhoons would shred the normal ones. That's probably why they seem to be going thru a solar boom (helps when the government offers subsidies)

Typhoons are erratic and don't hit the same areas all the time. These things look interesting, but your chances of getting a direct hit might limit their adoption.

[rcjordan]

Vertical axis wind turbines can offer cheaper electricity for urban and suburban areas
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170803103140.htm

[rcjordan]

bump

>vawt

Vertical turbines are used to convert traffic wind into electricity

https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/p5dl9h/vertical_turbines_are_used_to_convert_traffic/

[Drastic]

Well that's pretty awesome. Hadn't considered harnessing wind from traffic driving by.

[rcjordan]

>vawt

Norway's Contra-rotating floating turbines promise unprecedented scale and power
https://newatlas.com/energy/coaxial-vertical-floating-wind-turbines/