TREE SHAPED WIND TURBINES TO BE INSTALLED IN PARIS

A French company called New Wind is installing tree-shaped wind turbines at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France. The company’s founder, Jérôme Michaud-Larivière came up with the idea while in a Paris square, when he “saw the leaves tremble when there was not a breath of air.” He hopes the trees can be used to exploit small air currents flowing along buildings and streets, and could eventually be installed in people’s yards and urban centres.

He is the first to admit the efficiency of the trees is low compared to more consistent currents higher up, but believes the £23,500 trees are more viable and less intrusive than ‘monstrous’ conventional wind turbines. The 26 foot high trees, which use tiny blades inside the ‘leaves’, could potentially be profitable after a year of wind speeds averaging 7.8 mph. They can generate electricity in wind speeds as low as 4.5 mph. Scroll down for more photos and the video.

Photos

Watch the video:

Visit the New Wind R&D Website (French)

What do you think? Could these decorative wind turbines be a viable energy source? Leave your comments below…

SirSparks

Just had to be a French idea!
- Econazi
  
  and what is wrong with this being a French idea? In a globalized community, it’s expected that other countries start creating different styles of alternative energy since the US’s citizens are still too busy saying climate change isn’t real!!! Wake up and smell the pollution and start conserving water man! Our resources will be gone in my lifetime, and I’m only in my 20’s.
  - Phenix
    
    No need to assume the term “French idea” is intended as being an insult…. the French have historically discovered and invented a huge list of incredible things so saying it had to be a French idea is actually quite appropriate. Relax, not everything or everyone on the internet is trying to insult everything and everyone else.
  - SirSparks
    
    Chill !!!
  - Yugwen
    
    Is that what they teach you in school or did you find that on the internet? The sky really isn’t falling. Doom and gloom has been around since the first caveman stubbed his toe and declared rocks are evil and will cripple humanity to extinction. Relax there is more than enough of everything for everyone and it will always be that way. Greedy people and lazy people create shortages, nothing more nothing less. We can produce enough algae to feed as many humans as we can breed. We can pull water from rocks, desalinate, re-use, recycle, to the point that we could make do with the same water for a long long time. Just because we aren’t doing something doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Humans are lazy and wasteful as long as they can get away with it. It will be ok. People will adapt and change… or we will get a global pandemic virus, nuke ourselves to extinction, or get hit by a space object and all die long before a lack of resources. As SirSparks said, chill. It’s all good.
    - Johanna Gavert
      
      Agreed!
      How can I get one of theses for my backyard?
1solartopia1

wow…these a really cool & could solve a lot of problems for neighborhood wind installations in suburban areas where big blades will never fly….
Teisha Coyour

How well do these work with snow and ice?
- Yugwen
  
  Seems like they should work pretty well. They are mostly vertical and if they are moving it seems like snow would have a hard time hanging on. I’m sure in places where the trees get iced over they would do the same and lock up unless they use some of the power to heat the structure. If they self heated as needed they could probably work anywhere in any weather.
Anonymous

This is a perfect idea. Winter climates may have some trouble, but this would be worth the wait. Stylish and functional, no one could complain about “ugly” or “deadly” fans! I think these should be put to work immediately.
ENetArch

What do birds and other animals that nest in trees think of them?
- raf
  
  I’m not sure that is the point. Plenty of other trees for birds to nest in.
  - Yugwen
    
    Actually, it should be part of the point. It looks like a tree, or at least like a structure animals might want to land on or take refuge in. If it is lethal to any small animals that get close or try to land on it who is going to clean up the mess? How many dead animals is worth having cool looking wind power? Many areas have threatened populations, having wind power that kills all day every day would be something the animals could not adapt to. Trees are not normally predators animals have to watch out for.
    - JBMoorpark
      
      Most birds stay away from spinning objects. Small whirligigs are often used in fields to discourage birds from eating produce. I think the birds would be smart enough to figure out that it’s not something advisable to perch in or on.
      - ImAPoliticalGirl
        
        Not so…ever hear of condor cuisinarts? Wind turbines kill thousands of birds.
goaway

Awesome! I’m sure even the birds will love them!
Karen Latimer

I love this idea. This would be great for West Texas! Our winds reach excesses of 70-80 miles per hour. I wonder how they would fair with that much wind, though.
- Gary Richardson
  
  Traditional 3 Blade wind turbines can rotate their blades by facing high speed winds in order to reduce damage. This scoop design may benefit by adding a vertically telescoping feature that can be retracted at high speeds. Also, the generator can ease up on energy capture when the wind is directly blowing into the scoop to lessen load damage. By lessening load damage, the scoop will briefly spin faster but considering the light weight of the blade design, resuming higher loads at lesser wind angles will allow quick recovery at slower speeds.
Liz

Does anyone know how they are made? Or how long they can be expected to last?
Yugwen

Only concern I have with these is the same with a lot of other wind generators, but probably more so because these are so organic looking. Does this thing kill birds and other wildlife? If the blade back, the smooth rounded side, is the impact side it seems like this would be a lot safer than traditional designs. Efficiency is important, but safety and habitat should not be excluded from the value calculation. These could be put all over in desert climates and do double duty as wind power, habitat, and even provide shade.
Craig King

No. These are toys.
Samiullah M Shaikh

i have doubt …..that each have a oen genarter .or not
Purushotham Gandikota

Nice….Can u people tell me for every wind leaf consisting of individual generator.?
ImAPoliticalGirl

Birds can’t see the spinning blades, that’s why out west the turbines are called condor cuisinarts. Plus, wind turbines are inefficient — about 17 percent. You have to have fossil fuel back ups for when the wind stops blowing. These energy sources are on hold and waiting…to go to full power when the wind stops blowing. It will take many wind turbines covering thousands of acres to produce the power one energy plant produces.
- Gary Richardson
  
  If you are talking about Capacity Factor (CF) as the measure of efficiency, which in Germany averaged a little over 17%, includes older turbines. In contrast, modern turbines, especially offshore turbines where winds blow more constantly, have been known to exceed 50% CF and are expected to breach 60% in the near future. As far as bird fatalities go, I agree that safety of birds, bats, etc.. is very important. The Human Race’s dominance has many times in the past led to extinction of species at detriment to our ecosystem and must be handled wisely with great innovative passion. My perspective on this design here shows no indication of risk to birds any worse than wind blowing tree branches. At low wind speeds, the spinning turbines are light in weight and slow enough to recover from an impact. At high speeds, the danger of being smacked by a branch can prove equally fatal. As a result of this new approach to generating power, each design has great potential for positive judgement by it’s own merits, and be given the benefit of doubt as well.
http://batman-news.com Carol DiPirro

It would be great to hear how they are doing. I think it’s a great design but the proof is in using them!
http://ricardoteamor.pen.io Ricardo Teamor

@karenlatimer:disqus but there are storage issues I believe. Canada also is very good at wind power generation and storage.
gefff

Love it! Vertical axis wind turbines don’t decapitate or fry birds and other wildlife. An attractive, viable solution. How do I order one for my yard?
Gary Richardson

If the weight to stiffness ratio of these vertical turbines can be improved, then the ability to capture lower wind speeds into energy increases and less wear and tear at higher speeds. At the same time, these scoop shaped turbine blades show promise of excellent bird and bat safety.
Robin Hughes

Would like to see life cycle costing
Mighk Wilson

Their website claims output of about 2,400 KWH per year. For $33,000!? That’d take over a century to pay off. And considering the energy used to produce the thing… It’s a joke.
Hadayai Majeed

I see them used to recharge commercial batteries at least to start.

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