Ridgeblade® is the kind of invention that looks so obvious, so natural, and so simple, anyone could have invented it. In all that’s been dedicated to the exploration of wind energy, no one
saw this elegant, natural, and efficient solution to "micro-wind" or
home energy creation.
But the Ridgeblade Wind Generator is not as simple as it looks. The secret to its win of the 2009 Postcode Lottery Green Challenge is the unique design of the Ridgeblade’s rotor and its blades, that capture mild breezes and winds coming from any direction and quietly harnesses their power for energy use. That’s why the Ridgeblade took a group of aeronautical engineers to design it.
Ridgeblade, the first product of the Power Collective Ltd., sits at the ridge line or peak of a building and generates energy by collecting wind that normally escapes other roof-mounted wind generators. The Ridgeblade can capture everything from gentle breezes to brisk winter winds, accelerating them with the blades of its turbine and capturing that energy to provide electricity within.
A visually unobtrusive technology, the Ridgeblade should be as friendly to the neighborhood birds as it is to the rest of the environment. It has promise… to produce clean energy efficiently, to lower electricity bills, and to reduce our carbon footprint.
The Power Collective Ltd., won €500,000 — about $750,000US — for the Ridgeblade Wind Generator, which has already been tested for the market. It just may be on the market in early 2010. (source, via)
