Current best-technology wind energy is produced by huge wind turbines with blades that exceed 600ft diameter, but this is also cause for concern because they can kill birds that pass through.
Wind turbines are actually pretty good renewable-energy generators, but they have a couple of issues. Placing them in urban areas is challenging and residents of suburban areas often have the not in my backyard attitude because they can be an eyesore.
There are some noise and shadow concerns, and animal-lovers note the increasing occurrence of bird strikes, which doesn’t end well for the bird. There have been plenty of other ideas that generate wind energy, some resembling waving stalks of grass and others, like this tennis-racket-looking device developed at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands.
The wind energy device in uses charged water droplets to generate an electrical current. The water is stored in a tank insulated from earth-ground, and the water droplets carry a positive charge toward the collector. The wind forces the positively-charged water droplets toward the positive electrode, generating a current.
There’s no word on efficiency yet, but there is a demonstrator installation being tested on the top of the Stadstimmerhuis 010 building in Rotterdam. There are no moving parts, and the charge low, so it doesn’t present a danger to wildlife. Additionally, it is nearly silent, which is a boon to residents nearby.
