One of the major problems with conventional wind turbines is that their fast moving blades are prone to damage during high winds and they produce noise, which people living in the vicinity don’t really like. To solve the problems encountered with conventional wind turbines, Mecanoo Architects and Delft University of Technology have joined forces to develop a scale model of a bladeless windmill, which is now viewable in front of the on-campus faculty building dedicated to engineering, mathematics and computer science.
Dubbed the EWICON (Electrostatic Wind Energy Converter), the system is basically a steel frame structure that makes use of particle movement to generate renewable electricity. The idea is to spray electrically charged water droplets across a bipolar field by wind, creating current that is transmittable to the grid. Designboom notes that since the wind energy generation has no mechanically moving parts, the design aims to reduce maintenance costs, wear and tear, shadow casting and above all it virtually eliminates noise pollution.