Professor Farzad Safaei, from the University of Wollongong in Australia, envisioned a modular wind-power generator, stackable, and suitable for the space between buildings in a city. After years of work, PowerWINDows is patented and may come to market through a collaboration between the university and Birdon, a leading engineering service in the country. Unlike the rotating blades of conventional wind turbines, the blades of PowerWINDows move translational with respect to wind, up and down. "The blades are like Venetian blinds, and the oscillations are similar to a garage door rolling up and down," Safaei says. The design creates a less turbulent wake and reduces structural stress on neighboring units.
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