An international consortium is experimenting with tilt-back wind turbines. According to the consortium, more power can be generated by tilting wind turbines. “This could be the future,” says Energia's Sabine Slaters.
Research into tilted wind turbines: 'It has many advantages for power generation'
The wind turbines that will now be tested are small prototypes. “You can tilt a wind turbine and this allows the turbine to continue rotating longer when the wind is blowing strongly,” Slugters says. “The surface area that captures the wind is smaller, so the turbine can handle much higher wind speeds. This means the windmill can generate more power.
When the consortium designed the turbine, it discovered another advantage, according to Sluijters: Wake-up effect. Once the wind hits the wind turbine, it is crushed. So the wind behind the turbine is a bit more chaotic. If there was a turbine behind it, it would extract less energy from the chaotic wind. This is the wake-up effect.
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By tilting the wind turbine, the wake effect is reduced. As a result, the turbines have less influence on each other. “That's why they will test whether it is possible to place the wind turbines close together,” says Slaters.
A defect on the horizon
The project will take several years. Several parties are involved, including TNO and MARIN. Wind turbines are being developed for installation at sea. “They are probably further out to sea.” “So you won't see a lot of them,” Slaters says.
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