NAVAL ARCHITECTURE KNOWLEDGE: Wind Lens

Who would have thought that a simple rotating mechanism would be capable of converting kinetic energy into mechanical energy in order to produce electricity? Moreover, who would have imagined that a new design of the wind turbine technology will help tripling the electricity generation?

Well, this is exactly what was showcased at the Yokohama Renewable Energy International Exhibition conducted mid 2010. Called the Wind Lens, the design by Yuji Ohya, a Kyushu University professor, this technology is mega resourceful. Alternative energies have always brought about considerable economic changes especially when basic energy sources started becoming irregular and ended in price rises. Thus, when Charles Brush in Ohio blessed the world by building the first windmill in 1888, the usage of the same only increased and by 1900s it became all the more common to spot the three blade turbines towering on large landscapes.

Yuji Ohya believes that this will provide a tremendous improvement in the field of energy generation, if the Wind Lens goes into production. Besides increasing the energy production by three fold compared to offshore wind turbines, it will also help in reducing noise coming from the traditional turbines and added to that will perk up the protection while installing too. The Wind Lens is designed to be structured in the form of a honeycomb made from interlocking hoops with the turbines placed on all edges. The wind will be concentrated to the center of every hoop, thus increasing the amount of electricity produced with the entire Wind Lens afloat on the ocean. Wind farms that float are nothing very different from those on land except that they float in the center of the sea.

The mechanism on which Wind Lens works on is similar to that of a magnifying glass heaping on the light from the sun’s rays. The wind power is focused into the center of every hoop and this brimmed diffuser amplifies the same power. This increased power helps the turbines in rotating and each of these lenses have a diameter measure of 112 meters which is more than sufficient to meet an average household’s energy requirements. Moreover, this simple system and design results in the Wind Lens having less number of moving parts.