As wind-farms become more common, the term ‘wind turbine’ conjures up the image of the familiar, three-rotor design seen on hill-tops and, increasingly, out to sea. These turbines work well in high wind speeds and relatively smooth airflows: the technology matches the conditions where they are sited. The remoteness of these locations has allowed ever larger turbines to be built, generating significant amounts of electricity.

Urban areas can be very different. Some sites – parks, riverbanks and edge-of-town areas – may have relatively high wind speeds and low turbulence: in these places, the same turbines that are found in wind farms may work well. However, elsewhere in urban areas, the presence of buildings and other features tends to cause turbulence, and average wind speeds tend to be lower. The challenge of urban wind turbine design is to harness these mixed wind conditions in useful ways.

Turbine designs There are many designs and configurations of turbine.

Wind Conditions Before choosing a turbine, the site conditions need to be understood, so that the choice of turbine suits the physical and other constraints.

Concentrators, Diffusers, Augmenters There are also several design ideas that concentrate the wind in various ways.

Grid connection and electricity storage Only very rarely does our energy demand exactly match the supply.

Battery storage and ‘heat dumps’ For a stand-alone battery system to work effectively, all the different elements of the whole installation.

Units of energy and power Energy’ and ‘power’ are often used interchangeably.

Grid connection A wind farm or a single turbine can feed electricity into the national grid.

Selling electricity to the Grid If they buy surplus power at all, most electricity companies will buy it at a much lower rate than they sell it for.

How much power do you get? Wind turbines are often classified by their power rating.

Site testing and feasibility studies The wind is a fickle energy resource.

Health & Safety The people operating and maintaining a wind turbine need to do so safely.