Hong Kong Engineers Develop Micro-Wind Turbine

A company named Motorwave Limited based Hong Kong, China, have developed what may be a very promising new technology dubbed “micro-wind turbines.” This new technology can “generate electricity even if wind speeds are as low as two meters per second.” One benefit to these micro-wind turbines is that they are small enough to fit on any balcony or rooftop and “unlike conventional wind turbines with 50-meter-diameter rotor blades, the compact micro-wind turbines are equipped with specially designed plastic gearwheels with a rotor diameter of just 26 centimeters.” Another great feature to these micro turbines is if a user chooses to generate more electricity, the user can just link the “gearwheels together” to generate the additional electricity. 

Motorwave claims that the installation of these micro turbines “could provide up to 40% of a small family’s electric power needs by storing the turbine created energy in batteries.” What is the cost?  For now, a set “of 20 gearwheels currently costs about $25 dollars”, however the price is expected to drop once the “turbines are mass-produced.” For now, this technology will only be seen in Hong Kong.  However, if the technology becomes a big hit, you might start to see it here in the U.S.