ADVANCED TEST PHASE UNDERWAY FOR THE EGP MINI-WIND-TURBINE BLADE DESIGNED BY RENZO PIANO

The new wind turbine which is sensitive to the low-altitude diffuse wind more common in Italy, has produced over 1,200 KWh in two months of testing at the Molinetto test field, in the Province of Pisa.

Roma-Genoa, October 21st, 2013 –Testing has begun on the innovative mini-wind-turbine blade designed by Renzo Piano and developed in partnership with Enel Green Power, the Enel Group company fully dedicated to renewables, at a specially equipped high-tech test site.

The new slim-line, two-blade turbine is less visible than the traditional three-blade design, to the extent that it is difficult to detect in the landscape, but it has also shown itself to be capable of functioning also with low-intensity wind.

This result has also been made possible by the research into new, ever lighter and more resistant materials and by the new technology solutions employed in the construction of the turbine.

In the total absence of wind, the turbine is capable of blending perfectly into the surrounding environment, being reduced to the slim vertical line of the tower which is 20m high and barely 35cm in diameter, and the two aligned, vertical blades that hang horizontally with a diameter not exceeding 16m.

In only two months, the prototype being tested in Molinetto in the Province of Pisa, which is also home to the Enel research centre, has generated over 1,200 KWh which have been fed into the distribution grid.

Mass production for the Italian market will begin on completion of the test phase, which is due to continue for another few months.

The new mini-wind-turbine blade is part of Enel Green Power’s strategy for innovation that targets improving the performance of all the renewable technologies, making them more available and less prone to problems linked to intermittency. The aim is ever greater integration of renewable resources in heavily populated areas, thanks to the deployment of more compact machines with lower visual impact, within both the natural and architectural environment. There is also a focus on those renewable sources currently not in use, with the aim to make electricity more available, also in more remote sites such as the Italian islands.

This project has benefitted from contributions from Studio Favero & Milan in Venice, for the final design, and Metalsistem of Rovereto (Trento), for its construction.

 


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