Vertical wind turbines to generate energy from passing vehicles.

Today is Thursday, April 2, 2024

You probably already felt the air flowing, wind caused by a vehicle passing by, right ? Such as bus on a road or a train in a tunnel.

What about if devices similar to propellers are installed along roads and in tunnels, to generate energy from that airflow?

In fact, these ideas of putting wind turbines next to highways or using vertical-axis wind turbines, known as VAWT, are not new. But are evolving fast.

Here are two initiatives, one in Turkey and another one in Brazil (feel free to add a comment with other cases share).

In Turkey, there is a vertical turbine developed by Istanbul Technical University and tech firm Devecitech, placed alongside roads to harness the wind generated by passing vehicles. And to soak up solar energy at the same time. “The first vertical smart wind turbine designed to harvest both the energy from the natural wind, as well as that created by passing vehicles”. This turbine is named Enlil, after an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. It that can generate approximately 1kW/h.

The other case comes from Brazil, where a similar vertical turbine is being tested for deployment in the tunnels of the metro from São Paulo city. The turbine was developed by the startup Vento VAWT, incubated at the Aeronautical Technological Institute (ITA). Tests have shown that it can generate around 800 kilowatts per day. About this initiative, here is an article from the portal MetrôCPTM and another one at LinkedIn, by Júlio Castiglioni, CEO of the São Paulo Metropolitan Company.

We also found other articles with similar studies and projects on the development and application of these types of turbines.

In spite of advantages and disadvantages, the movement of vehicles, kinetic energy, can become a valuable resource for generating electricity, in a symbiotic relationship between transportation, energy and urban life.

That is why we quote Lavoisier in our Carbon Credit Markets portal.