Something groundbreaking is cooking in the cold and chilly seas of the Norwegian coast. A floating wind turbine, something that the global community has not witnessed before. It is 400 meters tall and the ‘mother of the Seas’, more than a showpiece. This innovative new design, created by the Norwegian startup World Wide Wind (WWW), aims to completely redefine wind energy and goes beyond sustainable energy.
The need for hurricane-resilient wind turbines across the world
Norway has employed a ‘hurricane hunter’ in their renewable energy endeavors. This vertical-axis turbine rotates in opposing directions at the top and bottom and is designed to maximise renewable energy and efficacy while dancing with the wind, instead of going against it. Besides its design, it is unique in a way that it is strong enough to function perfectly in a weather condition such as a hurricane. meaning, where there are severe weather conditions, it thrives.
While offshore wind turbines have been hailed as one of the most effective energy generators throughout the years, there have been some issues with the formation of these turbines. Oceans are not always quiet, and that is how Mother Nature is. Hurricanes, tropical storms, and enormous waves can severely damage or decrease the life of conventional turbines, and because of that, experts had to develop something extraordinary.
More wind turbines such as these can reduce dirty energy and energies that pollute the environment. There were three key concepts in this design:
- The design is floating; therefore, there is no need for it to be installed into the sea floor. It might not be the typical revolutionary look or design, but it is helpful.
- It does not rotate on a horizontal axis like traditional turbines; rather, the rotation takes place vertically. It is in favour of an orientation akin to that of an upside-down stand mixer.
- The addition of a second counter-spinning (also known as contra-rotating) turbine with blades on the same axis but revolving in the other direction is the third innovation that sets the design apart.
The energy potential is astounding despite the unconventional nature of the technology
World Wide Wind claims that one single turbine has the potential to produce 40 MW of energy or electricity, which is more than what has ever been manufactured, seven times more than the largest traditional wind turbines. Now imagine a lot of those turbines.
The turbine’s ability to float allows it to be installed in deep waters far from the coast, lessening the environmental and aesthetic impact that has frequently hampered the development of wind farms.
Norway’s audacious step sends a message to the world: It’s time to create something new
Norway is sending a loud and clear message to the world: “It is time to step into something new!” As a nation with experience with marine developments and engineering solutions, this marks a bold move and a leap of faith because it is one thing to build a wind turbine in the oceans, but one that can withstand harsh conditions such as hurricanes; that is another groundbreaking move.
News Atlas says that WWW believes this idea removes the engineering stress associated with building wind turbines in general, including forces that stop the expansion of wind turbines’ size, so that companies are also profitable. This wind turbine, made in Norway, is two and a half times the amount of power that the largest turbines of today can generate. Additionally, they expressed that testing of a larger 1.5-megawatt prototype is planned for 2025, and then to have a 24-megawatt version, which is larger than any offshore turbine currently in use, on the market by 2030.