Street lights powered using wind generated by passing traffic
WIND turbines activated by the airflow from passing vehicles installed on a major road in Shropshire will generate enough electricity to run all the street lights for the nearby town, in a UK first.
The vertical wind turbines invented by a British company can harness even a moderate breeze, which they say is generated by a car driving at 50mph, as well as by natural wind, and catch airflow moving in either direction.
They will be installed on 181 street lights on the A442 after a deal between Telford and Wrekin’s Labour-run council and company Alpha 311, which hopes the turbines could become as ubiquitous as cat’s eyes on the roads.
The turbines will provide electricity to the grid, and are expected to generate a surplus beyond the needs of Telford’s 20,000 street lights.
One wind turbine in the middle of a motorway can generate as much electricity as 30 solar panels, or nearly enough to power two homes, according to estimates from Alpha 311.
The idea for the turbine was developed by the company’s two co-founders during long commutes along the M2.
“It was at a time when Kent county council was turning the lights off to save money. Following behind trucks we could see the turbulence being displaced and the impact on the foliage,” said co-founder Barry Thompson.
“That’s wasted energy. And by doing it this way instead of with a large turbine, we are not uprooting the landscape,” he added.
Six other councils are interested in installing the technology on their street lights, and the company says it is in talks with local authorities overseas, including in the city of Chicago.
The company has already installed 10 of its vertical turbines on the O2 Arena, once the Millennium Dome, in London, which can produce power equivalent to powering 23 homes.
Telford and Wrekin has reduced its carbon footprint 58 per cent since it declared a “climate emergency” in 2019, although that includes emissions cuts during lockdowns.
It plans to be carbon neutral by 2030 and to remove single-use plastics from all of its operations by next year, and in 2014 it became the second local authority to build a publicly owned solar farm.
Alpha 311’s vertical wind turbines, which are retrofitted as a “sleeve” over the existing lamp post, can be installed without the council having to seek planning permission, making them relatively quick and easy to develop.
Carolyn Healy, the councillor responsible for environment at Telford and Wrekin, said: “This new partnership with Alpha 311 restates our commitment to tackling the climate emergency and reinforces our approach: that actions speak louder than words.”