We all know that we have a bit of a problem. There is air pollution, water pollution, holes in the ozone, deforestation...things are not terribly pretty. However, a number of individuals are organizations are working to change that. Many of us have probably seen the wind turbines that have been popping up on landscapes across the globe. And now, they are going to be far less intrusive and a whole lot cooler. A French company planning to install a device that looks like a tree but is actually a wind turbine. It will run silently, and is scheduled to be placed in Paris later this year (2015).
The man behind the project is French entrepreneur Jerome Michaud-Larivicre. The devices will be rather largish (for being less intrusive), but they also look rather stunning. They are set to reach some 36 feet (11 meters), and will generate electricity using 72 artificial leaves. Of course, the trees will not be an efficient, but they are more practical. The trees are capable of generating 3.1 kW of power. while current wind turbines used in wind farms generate up to 7 MW of electricity. However, they are small enough to install in groups around cities and suburbs. Moreover, since the leaves are so light, they are set in motion by winds as light as 4.4 miles per hour (so they can be in action an estimated 280 days a year).
Best of all, they could be place on your own lawn. "Making use of the slightest breeze, the Arbre r Vent is able to exploit all types of wind, in a 360 degree radius--turbulences, vortexes, drays and other wind phenomena found in urban and rural environments," says the company. "The Arbre r Vent is part of the energy harvesting movement, and powerful enough to ensure the electrical autonomy of a family of four."
See them in action in the video below.
Share This Article