J-TECH / Archives

Feb. 4, Thu.

Compact Wind Turbines Driven by the Wind of an Eco Boom
- Zephyr Corporation (Shinjuku, Tokyo)

With world attention focused on sources of sustainable natural energy, wind power has been attracting much attention and recently a Japanese company has been providing a fresh breeze to the wind turbine industry. Zephyr Corporation's compact-sized, highly efficient wind turbines are acclaimed for their excellent power generation capacity and have been sold to municipal governments and private companies in 31 countries around the world. Their Airdolpfin turbine is just 1.8 meters across. It has an assist facility that reduces resistance when the propellers start moving, enabling them to respond to the slightest winds that cannot be caught by conventional wind turbines. It is also equipped with an electromagnetic braking system to control rotational speed and prevent over rotation, enabling it to continue to generate power safely in violent winds in which the operation of conventional wind turbines is impossible. Japan's climate is known for its volatile winds and frequent typhoons and was thought to be unsuitable for wind generation, yet Zephyr has developed wind turbines that can make the most of the country's capricious winds. This episode of J-Tech sheds light on the company's latest product and the ingenious technologies behind it.