‘Wind trees’ may soon be powering homes

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmental and social research institution, wind energy is the fastest-growing source of electricity. But wind power development has mostly taken place on a large scale, usually by utility companies providing power to a grid of millions of customers.

Wind energy is most efficient when it’s capturing very strong winds, more common in remote areas and at heights greater than 50 ft off the ground. So those turbines need to be as tall as a five-story building, and they take up several hundred feet of horizontal room per turbine in many cases as well. They also require more maintenance than solar panels.

These factors may make it challenging to capture wind energy in small amounts, but several companies are still experimenting on creating wind energy devices fit for individual homeowners.

Last December, two “wind trees”,or arbres à vent, quietly churned in a plaza in Paris, as world leaders met for the historic climate talks at the Le Bourget conference center nearby.

Developed by a French company called New Wind, the “trees” had plastic “leaves” painted green, with curves that held dozens of tiny blades soundlessly harnessing the wind no matter which way it blew. Unlike larger industrial turbines, which need winds of over 22 mph to function, the leaves captured energy from wind speeds of less than five mph.

New Wind was founded by former film and television writer Jérôme Michaud-Larivière in 2011, and created its first prototype in 2013. The latest design is just under 30 ft tall and 23 ft wide, sporting a total of 54 leaf-turbines that can capture up to 5.4 kilowatts of energy at a time and produce around 2,400 kWh annually, said New Wind spokesperson Marine Bieliaeff.

The startup estimates this would meet half of the average French household’s annual energy needs; run a small, low-consumption office for 12 months; or charge an electric car for 10,000 miles each year. That’s the equivalent of about 160 gallons of fuel.

In January, New Wind installed its first tree for a private company, the Swiss bank Piguet Galland. They also have contracts to provide more trees to companies in France, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg in the year ahead, with plans to expand beyond Europe next year.

But, currently, the trees are not a long-term or scalable solution, as they are not designed for household use. They weigh several tons and take up a good bit of room.

Then there’s the price: a single wind tree costs about EUR49,500 (about US$56,000) to deliver and install. That’s not even close to cost-competitive with solar power. Photovoltaic solar panels producing the same amount of energy (5.4 kW) cost between EUR15,000-20,000 (US$17,000-22,600) in France, according to the country’s environment and energy agency ADEME.

One advantage of the unusual wind turbines, however, is their adaptability to different locations. A 5.4 kW solar array would take up about 430 sq ft of roof space, which is not very suitable for those living in apartments or houses without direct sunlight.

So far, New Wind has positioned aeropower at the intersection of art and sustainability, which appeals to businesses eager to take a green stance. But they plan to launch smaller, more customizable products for homes next year.

Rather than selling entire trees, the company would like to provide as many individual curved branches as a customer wants or needs. Such flexibility would allow those with small amounts of space or lower budgets to access at least some wind energy