Windstalks are an interesting concept; but will they really work?
Wind turbines, some of them as large as commercial airliners, have been receiving their fair share of attention recently as being viable producers of electricity in the Middle East and other regional countries, including Turkey.
But now, a new wind energy concept being planned for Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City, involves a totally new concept of erecting fields of 55 meter high kinetic energy generating “windstalks” that will sway in the wind in a similar manner as stalks of wheat, according to inhabitat.
As you may already be aware, Masdar City is a totally new concept in urban planning, and is being touted as the first commercial and residential project to rely solely on alternative and renewable energy to provide needed power. The “windstalks” concept, as noted by Inhabitat “are made of carbon fiber-reinforced resin poles, contain piezeoelectric discs and electrodes that generate current. The current is stored in two chambers that act as a battery. LED lights placed on the pole tips glow or dim depending on how much wind is present. When wind currents are completely absent, the LED’s stay dark.
Walking through the windstalks.
With a little help from our friends R&D
The windstalk concept is still very much in the development stage, and may require a bit of R & D before an actual prototype “field” is actually completed and thoroughly tested. As for the progress of Masdar City itself, the project has recently undergone some development “hiccups” or even near-total system failure, when some of its completed solar energy systems were not able to function properly due to a number of whirling dust storms.
Dust storms may not be problem for wind energy projects, however, as wind is what provides energy to either turbines, or in this case, windstalks. The main concern in this case would be whether the carbon fiber reinforced resin “stalks” can withstand high velocity winds.
The power of the stalk
It will be interesting to see whether this type of concept can generate enough electric power to provide energy for lighting, air conditioning, and other energy needs. If the idea works, it can then be used in other places, especially where there are sufficient wind velocities.
If it doesn’t work; it will be another setback in Masdar City’s development; one that recently has been beset with a number of problems resulting in the possibility of electricity having to be “imported”, causing damage to the project’s goal of being completely environmentally sustainable.
Read more about wind energy and Masdar City:
Turkey Blowing and Going on Wind Energy
Is Masdar City Experiencing slight developmental “hiccups” or total system failure
Reassessing Masdar City
Images via landartgenerator