Norwegian company World Wide Wind is revolutionising the offshore wind energy industry with a new innovation that presents significant improvements over the current vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) technology. The new design featuring counter-rotating vertical axis turbines (CRVT) mitigates some of the shortcomings of the existing VAWT technology and is optimised for offshore floating wind power generation.
World Wide Wind’s CRVT features two counter-rotating turbines in an integrated design, with the two sets of blades spinning in opposite directions. One turbine is positioned at the tower’s stem while the other is at the top. With one turbine connected to the rotor and the other to the stator, the resulting configuration doubles the speed of rotation to generate more wind energy – as much as twice the output of existing turbine technology.
The simple design of the CRVT allows the turbines to tilt with the wind, similar to sailboats, resulting in reduced wake effect. It also allows a greater number of turbines to be installed in a given area, thereby, significantly increasing wind power generation. The turbines can be scaled up to 40MW and 400m height.
The generator is positioned below sea level, acting as the stabiliser and counterweight to the rotating blades above. The design also allows the CRVT to harness wind energy from any direction.
Elaborating on the environment-friendly design of the CRVT, the company explained that the vertical axis turbines have less impact on wildlife as the rotating turbine is perceived as a natural obstacle. “The low speed of the rotor blade’s wing tip prevents bird-strikes, in addition to our design also allowing for increased use of recyclable materials.”
World Wide Wind’s scalable design and technology for counter rotating vertical wind turbines represent the core elements of future wind turbine design, and will significantly improve the viability of wind power going forward, the company stated.
