URBAVENTO

Project "URBAVENTO" data sheet

The following table provides information about the project.

 Partnership

Take a look of project's partnership.

Map

 Project objective

Customers using traditional horizontal axis wind turbines are facing several problems, such as: noise, unaesthetic appearance so they need to be installed in remote locations. As a result, the power is generated very far from where it is meant to be consumed, causing an energy loss of 20% during the transfer (line-losses); they also need strong winds to function and are expensive to install and maintain. Newenergy21 has designed and developed UrbaVento, an innovative vertical axis wind turbine for decentralized energy-production (smart grid applications as well as off-grid), which features carbon-fibre “wings”, as well as a smart control and fault diagnostic software that simplifies maintenance and troubleshooting and tracks performance and savings. The UrbaVento is a big leap forward compared to current wind turbines due to its unique advantages, which are firstly: its compatibility with the urban environment, since it features silent energy production at low wind speeds, starting from less than 3m/s, while it can produce up to 10 MWh of electricity per year when operating between 7 and 10m/s; it is suited for distributed power production because it can be installed anywhere due to its compact size and attractive appearance. Secondly, it offers a higher return on investment since it is cheaper to install, operate and maintain, due to its low number of moving parts, the absence of a gearbox and the location of all serviceable components are at ground level, enabling the turbine to seamlessly reach its envisaged life-cycle; Thirdly, its wings can be used as a reflective screen, making it an attractive medium for advertising. The Phase 1 project will be focused on establishing a complete supply chain, a sound business model and commercialization strategy, a planning of all activities for deploying a large scale pilot with 10 turbines installed in different locations, as well as the elaboration of an industrialization and marketing plan.