Vertical axis wind turbines, inspired by schooling fish

You might have noticed your little goldfish, swimming round in endless circles, all day long. Schooling fish in the ocean do just the same, but a few hundreds do the rounds together. So what has a few hundred schooling fish moving round in circles and wind energy have in common? A motion that could enable us to harvest 10 times more energy using wind turbines. Researches at California Institute of Technology (CalTech) have realized that the motion of schooling fish if used in vertical axis wind turbines could increase energy production, 10 times more, in the same amount of space taken. Wind farms are space hungry, and a lack of space proves to be a huge hurdle.

Turbines placed too close lose efficiency because of the vortexes created by the turning blades. So, vertical axis turbines prove to be a much better alternative to the wind turbines we have today. Who knew fish moving round in circles could inspire with energy production!

[Treehugger]