Thanks to French design firm NewWind, wind turbines of the future won't be gigantic and ugly anymore. The company's newly designed wind turbines, named Tree Vent, look like post-modern tree sculptures.



A traditional wind turbine needs to be high enough to catch the strongest winds, this makes them too impractical and bulky for urban spaces. The new design developed by the team uses vertical, green coloured small wind turbines, positioned in a way that enables the machine to operate silently. These turbines are more sensitive compared to traditional wind turbines, they are able to use a 7 km/hr speed wind. They are also strong enough to withstand winds that can reach 178 - 208 km/hr.


These small turbines, called Aeroleaf,  are durable against harsh weather conditions because they are made of a lightweight plastic material and a resin coating. The team's aim in designing these tree-like turbines is to make wind turbines adaptable to urban settings. Their comparatively small size (each tree is 11 meters tall and 8 meters wide) makes them practical enough to be used in public places. For those who want to see one of these trees in action, the project will be showcased, in Paris, at Place de la Concorde between March 12 and May 12, 2015.


Unfortunately, the trees will not be available for mass production until the summer of 2016, and they will be expensive. The company initially plans to make them available in France and neighbouring countries with a price tag of about 29,500 euros.


Story via IFLScience. Image via NewWind.

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