We all know that wind turbines are one of the most used solutions for clean energy generation but like all things they have bad parts like noise from their blades, inadvertent bat and bird kills. New York design firm Atelier DNA claims it has found the key to solve these issues.
The company has come up with an interesting design for a wind energy generator called “Windstalk” that ditches the blades in favor of stalks. Resembling thin cat tails, the Windstalks produce clean energy when the wind sets them waving.
According to Treehugger, “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. Atelier DNA’s “Windstalk” project came in second in the Land Art Generator competition a contest sponsored by Masdar to identify the best work of art that generates renewable energy from a pool of international submissions.”
In order to be submitted to Masdar city, the project includes 1203 stalks in all, each 180-feet high anchored to the ground with concrete bases 10 to 20 meters in diameter.
The carbon-fiber stalks are conceived from carbon fiber reinforced with resin poles, being about a foot (30 cm) in diameter at the base and 2 inches (5 cm) at the top.
Every stalk will be composed of alternating layers of electrodes and ceramic discs made from piezoelectric material that will produce electricity when put under pressure. This is one of the reasons why this concept is the prettiest I’ve ever seen so far.
