What will the cities of the future look like? Towering skyscrapers fitted with softly rotating paneled windows that harness wind energy and convert it into electricity? It is if Prof. Farzad Safaei has anything to do with it.
Safaei, Director of University of Wollongong’s ICT Research Institute, and his team, have invented a new kind of wind turbine with big possibilities. Its unique design means it can be installed on the sides or tops of skyscrapers and large apartment buildings. It’s also quieter, cheaper to run and safer than current wind turbines – it doesn’t have large rotating blades that might be dangerous for humans or birds.
PowerWINDows is the culmination of four years of work and UOW has just signed an initial two-year deal with one of Australia’s leading engineering companies, Birdon, to build a commercial viable prototype to enable more extensive testing and evaluation in the hope that the product may one day be brought into production.
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