Wind turbines without blades: sustainable low-impact wind energy

According to data from the Spanish Wind Energy Association, in 2022, installed wind power capacity came to 29,813 MW, with 1,670 new MW that year alone. In total, there are 22,042 wind turbines, and this number is expected to rise further.

Despite this data, wind energy has one major setback: the enormous size of wind turbines, the difficulty transporting them and the very specific needs in relation to the installation and construction of wind farms. In fact, although the total volume of wind farms and their infrastructure occupies only 0.017% of Spain's total surface area, there are already problems finding new areas to build.

To this end, major efforts are being made to minimise the environmental, visual and sound impact of wind power plants (and renewable energies in general) to make them more sustainable and to extend them to other areas. One of these innovative projects is the development of wind turbines without blades in different formats.

Towards increasingly sustainable wind energy

Wind turbines without blades, as the name suggests, are a type of wind turbine with a very different shape to those we are accustomed to. Rather than generating energy by moving the blades, they generate it with the movement of the mast itself. This change, which on paper seems so simple, represents a revolution in the field of wind energy, as it would allow a considerable reduction in costs thanks to its easy construction, small size, and practically unlimited installation possibilities.

As we were saying, these devices are based on the same principle as wind mills: they generate energy using the force of the wind. Although rather than moving the blades, it is the mast turns. Using an internal system of coils and magnetic fields, electricity is generated by electromagnetic induction without the need for rotation on an axis.

Many companies are working on different models of wind turbines without blades. One example is that of Spanish firm Vortex and here they explain how it works: "There is a fixed base and a cylindrical mast that oscillates freely, perpendicular to the direction of the wind, joined by a carbon rod. The internal parts never collide with one another, rather they interact to generate electricity."

Of course, when you see the company's product, it attracts enormous attention: a vertical pole measuring around 2.75m high; far removed from our current concept of wind energy.

Wind turbines without blades for all terrains

Undoubtedly, one of the main attractions of these wind turbines is their size. As they are much smaller in height than traditional wind turbines, they can be installed without any problems in areas where it was previously unthinkable to generate wind energy. Cities, or airports, for example, could benefit from installing these devices on the roofs of buildings. What's more, it will be possible to access areas with high wind resources where conventional wind turbines were not suitable.

According to Vortex, the concept is very simple and this makes for a very simple manufacturing, installation and maintenance process, lowering costs and fomenting demand. Furthermore, they are very quiet, meaning that the production of wind energy by individuals could be democratised, installing these wind turbines without blades in homes to supplement other energy sources, such as solar panels.