There is good news for those eco-friendly advocates and wind-related exchange traded funds (ETFs), as two Cal State Long Beach professors have developed a new electricity-generating wind turbine.
Conventional pinwheel wind turbines are large, crowded together on wind farms, and need headwinds of 22 miles-per-hour, which generate electricity transmitted to urban areas, writes Kevin Butler for the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
The bulky size for conventional turbines prompted the two engineering professors to design an efficient turbine that can generate electricity from slower wind speeds in urban areas. Such areas along beaches, near freeways, rooftops, street lights, or billboards are seen as untapped potential wind-energy generating resources.
The professors’ new type of turbine is analogous to the spinning motion much like a police siren. This type of turbine allows for smaller and lighter designs with less vibration.