Can wind turbines be replaced by wind nets?
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Mar 28, 2011  |  Vote 0    0

Can wind turbines be replaced by wind nets?

Hamilton Spectator

And The Answer is? Wind Turbine Hybrids!

Has the wind turbine industry ever considered the idea of integrating hydrogen and oxygen production, and fuel cell technology, into the tower structure of its wind turbines; creating a hybrid wind turbine power station that can generate electrical power when there is no wind?

Here is how it would work:

When the grid demand drops, the wind turbine hybrid shifts into power storage mode. Electrical power from the wind turbine would be used to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen gas by means of electrolysis. The mechanical energy from the turbine could be used to compress this hydrogen and oxygen gas into liquid energy that can be stored on-site.

When the grid demand goes up and there is no wind, the liquid hydrogen (H2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) that is stored on-site would flow to the on-site hydrogen fuel cell generators and create electrical power that can be fed to the grid.

There is some risk: storing liquid hydrogen and oxygen for later use is a safety hazard. And a fair bit of excess wind energy is spent producing and storing H2 and LOX. Most of the H2 / LOX production equipment, and the fuel cell generator, would be built inside the turbine tower. For safety reasons, the H2 and LOX would likely be stored in large cryo-tanks, away from the tower.

I think it is worthwhile to do a cost/benefit and risk assessment analysis to determine if this is a practical solution, for a wind farm operation.

Electric Wind Nets

The dominance of large turbine blades is almost over. In the future, it will be more efficient to string-up “electrical wind nets” that can capture a greater percentage of the wind energy. Albeit, it would “capture” more birds and ice, too.

An electrical wind net would look like a giant tennis net or web, made of carbon fibre for support and copper wiring for electricity, that stretches from one tower to another. This “net” would act like a parachute; capturing more of the wind that strikes the area. It would support hundreds of small wind turbine devices that generate electrical current that flows through the copper wires, to the tower structures.

Because the wind net components are small and numerous, they could be mass-produced (meaning they would be cheaper), assembled and maintained on-site, and would have built-in redundancy.

In theory, the wind net approach should be more efficient and less intrusive than giant, rotating turbine blades. However, it would likely be subject to damage from bird strikes and ice storms.

Peter Hasek is a writer living in Hamilton. His next effort will be to appear before a city hall committee to advocate for the formation of a social housing “tenant supports” organization, for the 13,000 tenants living in CityHousing Hamilton communities.

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