A group of fourth year Mechanical Engineering students at the University of Calgary in Canada has begun work to investigate an alternative form of wind power as part of their Capstone Project. The concept was proposed by a Climate Aware team member, Ron Forth. The idea does not use turbines, and is thought to have many advantages over the conventional wind turbine approach, in that it reduces danger to wildlife, noise, and maintenance costs.
The investigation is aimed at determining the technical and economic feasibility of the idea, and involves various aspects of structural engineering, materials science, aerodynamics, control systems, and power systems. It is anticipated that the project will be of interest to the government at the Federal and Provincial levels if it is demonstrated to be feasible, as both have undertaken to address climate change by promoting methods to reduce GHG emissions.
Technical details on the project will be made available at some future date as the work progresses. Climate Aware aims to generate practical solutions to the climate problem in addition to communicating credible scientific information.