NOVEL ELECTROSTATIC WIND ENERGY CONVERTER: AN OVERVIEW

Abstract

The article discusses the historical development and embodiments of the concept of generating electricity from wind energy without the use of wind turbines, so called electrostatic bladeless generators or generators without moving parts. A simplified theory and the principles of operation of generators that use a motion of charged particles in an electric field occurring under the drag force of the wind are described. Two contemporary solutions utilising the principle that has reached an implementation stage, EWICON and AerovoltaicTM, are presented in detail.