Spinning turBine May Bring green energy

LONDON: Two British-based researchers have created an award-winning new design for a mini wind turbine that looks like a volleyball and can catch a breeze blowing in any direction, which they say will make green energy more attainable for people who live in cities. The O-Wind Turbine, created by Nicolas Orellana and Yaseen Noorani from Lancaster University, is a small plastic sphere with vents that catch wind from any direction, causing it to spin on its axis like a ball balanced on the end of a finger. It is better suited than traditional turbines for harnessing the ever-changing winds that blow through built-up locations, the inventors say.

“Cities are windy places but we are currently not harnessing this resource,” said Orellana, who is from Chile.