'Wind Tree', a new wind turbine that looks like a tree and quietly generates power

The wind turbines used for power generation do they work best when mounted in a large installation that reaches a higher height and from which the wind speed is higher. Although it is not the most aesthetic option for the landscape, it is the only way for energy production on a larger scale.

Una French company is trying to change this by inventing the 'Wind Tree' or 'wind tree'. As you might imagine, it is a formation of wind energy turbines in the shape of a tree and that will be present in Paris next March in a test phase.

The 'Wind Tree' is being developed by NewWind and has 72 artificial leaves. Each of them is a vertical turbine with a conical shape and has a small mass that can generate power with a light breeze of 2 meters per second. This would allow the wind tree to be useful to generate energy for 280 days in the year. The total energy production of its 72 turbines is estimated at 3.1 KW.

Other turbines that were larger in size could produce more power, but they would need a greater force from the wind so that they could operate for so many days in the year.

At 11 meters high and 8 meters in diameter, the 'Wind Tree' is close to the dimensions of a real tree and the images of the prototype that we have show it as an element that could perfectly pass as a sculpture in an urban landscape. It is completely silent and is made entirely of steel. All cables and generators run inside the steel frame.

Among its characteristics it has the possibility of integrating it into the public electricity grid or use it as an energy supplement for a particular building. The price of each one is € 29500 but could be paid in a few years. The real advantage is that it could be installed in cities to supply free and totally clean energy.