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Wind Fence Could Be the Future of Power Generation

Catwell

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The wind fence can generate 2,200 kW of power every year. (Image Credit: Airiva)

New York-based designer Joe Doucet developed a wind fence to generate clean energy for urban landscapes. This modular fence is made of twisted wind turbines and has the potential to be deployed in residential units, corporate buildings, and hotels.

Doucet started working on this concept with his company, Airiva. At first, he called it the Wind Turbine Wall and designed and tested 16 different versions. Each one had changes to the shape and size of the blades. He eventually went with three final iterations that underwent wind tunnel testing.

His team thoroughly tested them at two US-based facilities and concluded that the helix design structure was more efficient for energy generation. Each unit, measuring 14 ft x 7 ft, will be made of 80% recycled material.  With eight helix blades, the wind fence can generate approximately 2,200 kW of power per year. Five wind fences (40 blades) could enable an average American household to produce electricity without relying on the grid. That also means one wind fence can generate 20% of the power an average American household consumes per year.

Doucet introduced this wind fence idea to Airva in 2021. Custom pilot installations could happen this year, while the first commercial orders may come next year.

The wind fence stands out as a power-generation solution for real estate firms and corporations. In contrast to other wind power solutions requiring more land space, the wind fence can be installed at smaller buildings for distributed power generation.

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  • in reply to michaelkellett

    "...I doubt that the wind fences are going to be much good in an urban environment either..."

    Perhaps depends if you can take advantage of relaxed planning permission for building upward. Slight smile

    If the wind can damage my roof Frowning2, it can probably also turn some form of turbine. It may not be as optimal as a windmill in a field though.

    "...replace all roof tiles with panel..."

    An added benefit there is that at the same time as you are adding energy collection, you could be improving roofing technology to start to bring roofing back in-line with prevailing weather conditions.

  • in reply to beacon_dave

    I doubt that the wind fences are going to be much good in an urban environment either.

    I don't know the ratio of perimeter fence to person in London compared with SW Scotland where I live but I would guess that its greater than 100:1  -meaning that we have plenty of room for active fences but the only electric ones we use are to keep the cows in the right place.

    And that's because we also have plenty of room for windmills which share with the cows quite well.

    I think cheap solar panels are the answer - replace all roof tiles with panel (if they can get cheap enough), no planning issues, no noise, a fraction of the maintenance. If only we had an answer to the storage problem .......

    MK

  • in reply to michaelkellett

    "...you would do much better to generate the same power with 1 correctly sized rotating blade set...."

    Indeed but perhaps not always easy to get planning permission for one of these in the urban environment though ?

  • 2200kW of power per year means nothing.

    The W is a unit of power and is 1J per second.

    So think about it - what does n joules per second per year mean ?

    Perhaps they mean 2.2MWh/year.

    But without a LOT more info   - at best it's an idea for a wind turbine but looks pretty duff.

    Closely spaced turbines interact - so the power extracted per turbine is reduced. There is a reason that real wind turbines have three thin blades and are spaced many blade lengths apart.

    Then putting turbines at ground level is a bad idea. less wind, affected by buildings, safety etc..

    A fence with multiple rotors is just a mad idea  - you would do much better to generate the same power with 1 correctly sized rotating blade set.

    MK

  • in reply to beacon_dave

      The heartbreaking part of this is that the economics of it rarely make sense.  2,200 kW per year costs about $330 where I live.  It would be fantastic if they were affordable.  My work has a flat top roof and the prevailing wind hits the Southwest corner.  We could install along the West and South wall for maximum effect.

    Still... it's a step in the right direction.  They aren't ugly.