Scientists Build Turbines Not As Deadly to Birds: ; Russian-U.S. Product Could Sit on Rooftops
Sep 23 - Sunday Gazette - Mail; Charleston, W.V.
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory has teamed up with former soviet weapons
scientists to design a small-scale wind turbine that could be used by
individuals to provide power to their homes.
Three of the lead Russian scientists on the project visited the lab recently
to showcase the new technology. The team works at the Makeyev State Rocket
Center in Miass, Russia, which previously focused on developing
submarine-launched missiles.
For a decade, the scientists have turned their skills toward wind technology,
and for the last two years, they have been collaborating with Lawrence Berkeley
to develop the new turbine. The work is part of a Department of Energy
initiative to help Soviet scientists and engineers involved with designing and
building weapons of mass destruction to find alternative, peaceful uses for
their expertise and technology.
The result is a wind turbine that looks nothing like the traditional 100-foot
windmill-style turbine that populates the hills of the Altamont Pass. The new
turbine has vertical, fiberglass blades that rotate around a mast like an
eggbeater.
The first prototype has a mast about 30 feet high with blades 12- feet tall
and a diameter of about 10 feet. But the design can be scaled up or down, and a
rooftop turbine wouldn't need a tall mast.
"We are very happy with the project and have a very high opinion of our
American partners," Russian scientist Vladimir Krivospitsky said through an
interpreter. "The international collaboration makes the whole world
better."
Lawrence Berkeley helped form a new company, known as Wind Sail, to
commercialize the new turbine. Several more prototypes are being built in
Russia's main helicopter factory and are expected to arrive in Berkeley for
testing this fall.
"We're in it to provide an opportunity for these folks to get into
business," said Glen Dahlbacka of Lawrence Berkeley.
Ryan Wiser of the lab's Environmental Energies Technology division has been
analyzing the market for small wind turbines. Currently there are only about 300
small turbines in California, he said.
Many of the smaller turbines are owned by people with homes too remote to
connect to the traditional power grid. But Wiser thinks the rising cost of
fossil fuel energy combined with technological advances and government rebates
will make owning a wind turbine more attractive for homeowners connected to the
grid.
"It's not a huge market, but it's a market that's growing," said
Wiser.
The team hopes their turbine will beat other small turbines aiming at the
fledgling market. Though it's not the only small, eggbeater-style turbine
around, the Russian model may have the edge.
"We have more than 100 scientists and engineers working on this
project," said Richard Halstead, an engineer at Wind Sail. "It's hard
to rival that."
"The efficiency is very high compared to other wind turbines in the
market," said Krivospitsky.
The turbine is also self-starting, which has been a trouble spot for other
vertical turbines. It is also relatively quiet and easy to maintain. Another big
advantage is that it is less likely to kill birds, a huge problem for
windmill-style turbines.
A study by the BioResources Consultants in Ojai estimated that 22,000 birds,
including 400 to 600 golden eagles, have died after flying into the blades of
the 5,000 turbines that make up the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area.
Consultants say the birds are often so focused on their prey on the ground, they
don't notice the turning blades.
In January, the Center for Biological Diversity sued some of the companies
that own the Altamont turbines for not doing enough to stop the bird kills.
Its inventors believe the Russian turbine will be safer for birds because the
edges of the vertical blades are much slower than tips of the windmill-style
blades, making them easier for birds to see. And birds can safely land on the
top of a vertical turbine without getting hit by the blades.
The Russian team is working on pairing the turbine with other technologies
such as an efficient ice maker that could be used by deep-sea fishermen to keep
their catch fresh, or in remote villages to keep food from spoiling.
The turbine could also power a water purification system originally designed
to make drinking water for Russian submarines. And hydrogen fuel cell technology
created for the Soviet space program could be used for a wind-powered hydrogen
storage system.
For information, visit www.wind-sail.com
.