Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Wind Power

In Muskoka, and probably elsewhere too, special trees have spring up in the last few years. From a distance they look like extremely tall healthy conifers. The truth is that they are camouflaged communication towers.

Bell plans to construct seven of the disguised towers, which look like large trees.  Construction will begin in May.

In the spring of 2014 a company in France introduced a tree that generates wind power. 36 feet tall and 26 feet in diameter, they have 72 artificial leaves. Each leaf is a small turbine that rotates in a vertical position. Since the turbines are quite light, they will spin even in a gentle breeze. Each "tree" can generate 3.1 kilowatts of power which seems small until you consider that they will be working most days when the larger fan-type turbines are often not working when there is insufficient wind. 

Although each Wind Tree costs about US$36,500, the supporters of the project claim that they will pay for themselves within a couple years. The trees, which are both quiet and sculptural will be placed in urban areas, possibly among other trees. 



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