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U.S. Company Announces Prototype of a Wind Energy Pyramid. The Final Version of the Offshore Wind Pyramid Could Be Up to 120 Meters Tall.
Wind energy has the capacity to transform kinetic energy from movement into electricity in a much cheaper way and without generating greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Now, another offshore wind turbine project in the shape of a pyramid has come to life. This is the prototype from T-Omega Wind, which promises to be more economical than the current market options.
New Structure of the Offshore Wind Pyramid Floats on the Sea
The wind energy pyramid was launched and successfully tested in New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA. The new offshore wind pyramid features a structure that eliminates the large central pole found in common offshore wind turbines on land.
Moreover, it replaces the huge windmill generators with a two-sided shaft supported at the ends. Thus, instead of a single tower, the turbine has four diagonal supports forming a floating pyramid. The pyramid is anchored to the seabed, allowing it to float with the wind, improving wind efficiency.
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The prototype of the offshore wind pyramid stands at 8 meters tall, and the final version will be about 120 meters. T-Omega estimates that the total weight of the wind energy pyramid system ranges between 1,200 and 1,800 tons. First, the company tested the structure in a wave tank with a 1/60 scale model.
The test proved that the offshore wind pyramid design could remain upright even if a full-sized version were hit by 30-meter waves. Now, the company responsible for the wind energy pyramid project is testing a 1/16 scale prototype.
Wind Energy Pyramid Project Expected to Solve Major Industry Problems
The characteristics of the new wind turbine structure from T-Omega allow for reduced weight and production costs, as well as addressing logistical challenges in production, implementation, and maintenance. Finally, it also eliminates the need for specialized installations and can be easily towed in case of malfunction. The expectation is to deliver a Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE) of about US$ 50 per megawatt-hour with the equipment, which is on par with the best fixed-bottom offshore wind technologies currently available.
The CEO of T-Omega Wind, Brita Formato, told New Atlas that the offshore wind pyramid project is expected to solve major problems in the industry. The offshore wind industry is facing challenges.
The new floating wind energy pyramid will elegantly and economically address many of the challenges. The company is excited to present this technology to the world’s leading offshore wind developers and plans large-scale implementations in the coming years.
Other Offshore Turbine Designs Are Emerging Worldwide
The installation of offshore wind turbines has emerged as a promising business, taking advantage of the natural winds from the seas, saving space that would be used on land, and minimizing potential environmental damage.
Thus, in addition to the wind energy pyramid, a new single-blade wind turbine is emerging, promising to be the great solution, costing half the price to generate even more energy than conventional models.
This is the single-blade wind turbine from the Dutch company Touchwind. Despite having only one blade, whereas the more well-known models have three, and lacking sophisticated systems, the design can cost half the price of a standard installation, while still providing more power.
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