Multi-turbine, this wind turbine should generate 5 times the annual energy of the largest models in the world


Maxence Glineur

February 14, 2023 at 9:15 a.m.

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Multi-turbine wind turbines WCS 1 © © Wind Catching Systems

© Wind Catching Systems

This concept consists of a hundred small turbines that can operate in stronger winds than larger scale models.

The wind turbine industry regularly surprises us with new records and other innovations. Nothing surprising: the sector benefits from a favorable political and economic climate. The Norwegian company Wind Catching Systems is no exception to the rule and has just received new public subsidies to advance its prototype.

Small turbines for a larger sweeping area

Called Wind Catcher, it takes the opposite view of other wind turbines which tend to be equipped with longer and longer blades, up to 115 meters for the latest model from the giant Vestas. Its structure would be more than 300 meters high, that is to say close to an Eiffel Tower, the universal measuring scale in this sector. It should thus support 115 turbines, each equipped with blades about fifteen meters long.

Thanks to this multitude of machines, the Wind Catcher should offer a sweeping surface up to twice as large as more conventional models. Moreover, this relative smallness allows them to exploit faster currents that longer blades struggle to support.

The company claims its technology can generate up to five times the annual energy of the largest individual turbines currently on the market, and thus power up to 80,000 European homes a year. The Wind Catcher is a floating offshore wind turbine, which means it can take advantage of stronger, more consistent winds while having a reduced impact on the seabed.

© Wind Catching Systems

A potential that has yet to be demonstrated

Since these turbines can overcome stronger winds, will they have to need them to capture the same amount of energy as larger turbines? More so, Electrek wonders if the structure that supports them might not generate additional drag, thus reducing the final yield.

Founded in 2017, Wind Catching Systems has just received a grant of around 850,000 euros from ENOVA, a Norwegian public institution. The latter had already shown its confidence by granting it a first grant twice as large in October 2022. Thus, even if the company does not yet communicate a timetable for the construction of a first model, it attracts curiosity, both its vision is radically different from what is envisaged today by the giants of the sector.

Source : Electrek



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