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Gene Kelley, Founder and CEO of W2 Energy Development Corp., recently turned his hand to improving the efficiency of turning wind into energy with his WindWings invention. Basically, it is a series of six to twelve horizontal parallel blades that move up and down in the wind. Here is his explanation for how it works: Have you ever stuck your hand out a car window? Then you know how the WindWing works. Your hand tilts up as it is pushed up by the wind and down as the wind pushes it down; all you have to do is direct it.
Sensors behind the panels adjust the WindWing according to wind direction and strength. Once the series of panels are adjusted, the wind pushes them up and down collecting the energy through its stem and storing it in a box at the base. That energy can be converted into electricity, compressed air or put through a water pump. Since the WindWing works more efficiently than a traditional wind turbine, it costs one tenth the price. One WindWing can also replace about twelve propeller wind turbines depending on the surface area and needs of the community. You may remember Gene Kelley as the inventor of: the rumble strips on the side of highways, the safety lights attached to under the seat flotation devices on airplanes, and John Glenn's helmet. No? I didn't either but he is a pretty diverse and impressive inventor with a track record for creating commercially viable products. Let's see if the WindWing equals the viability of his previous inventions. At one tenth the price and one twelfth the space, WindWings look to be another winner. |
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A California inventor has created a rival for wind turbines that is cheaper, quieter and more efficient. The WindWing dispenses with propellers in favor of parallel panels that look like stacked WWI plane wings stuck up on a pole. The panels work similarly by lifting and lowering with the wind.
