Current wind turbines are made to stop functioning in wind speeds exceeding 25 m/s.
As its rotor automatically finds the right position, it is able to handle wind speeds of up to 70 m/s. The result: more energy.
As its rotor self-adjusts to automatically find the right position. It is able to handle speeds op to 70 m/s.
If you want to see the system adjust to changing wind conditions, check the header animation on the home page.
For ages, angled one-piece rotors have been an engineer’s dream. Increasing the size seemed impossible without expensive pitch-control systems. That is, until now.
This problem being solved, TouchWind rotors have an estimated costs of 30% compared to current turbines.
According to IRENA (2017) 37% of the price of offshore wind turbines, is under the watersurface (support structure/foundation & construction/installation). That is approximately €7.5 million, each. Being able to build turbines in harbours reduces costs vastly.
Furthermore, floating wind turbines allow for placement in deeper seas. Here, wind is faster, so more energy can be generated.
TouchWind’s rotor pulls the mast, which results in less conflicting forces within the construction. This makes it possible to make the windmill lighter and more elegant, but most important: a mast that is estimated to be 50% cheaper than that of any current model of wind turbines.
Maintenance of sea turbines is hard. Masts are fixed and for that reasons not approachable in tough weather conditions, which results in loss of capacity.
TouchWind turbines is easily accessible for maintenance. A boat can grab the cable connecting the buoy with the rotor in most weather conditions. No helicopters nor cranes required.
This means less time spent offline, and therefore, higher capacity.
Offshore turbines are growing every year. And the reason for that is simple: a turbines capacity grows quadratically with its rotor diameter.
Our rotor consists of just one piece. This makes for greater constructional strength and therefore even greater rotor diameters.
A 200 meters rotor, is capable of an power output of 12.5 MegaWatts. That’s enough for roughly 15.000 households.
