Back in June of this year, Renewable Energy Magazine reported on an innovative wind power solution called Wind-It, which incorporates wind turbines into ageing electricity pylons to generate and provide additional power to an existing grid.
Now, the Dutch company WinWind has developed Railwind® – a similar concept involving wind turbines above railway tracks – which has attracted the attention of wind energy developer Evelop.
While the Netherlands has high wind energy resources, it also has a chronic lack of free, open spaces and the major problem is finding suitable locations to erect new wind turbines. With this in mind, Evelop, which is part of Eneco, and the Dutch rail operator ProRail have signed a joint venture agreement to develop Railwind®. The project will initially be piloted in the industrial area Sloehaven near Vlissingen and is the only one of its kind in the world. It also fulfils the strategy adopted by Holland’s Spatial Planning and Environment Minister Cramer to build wind farms in and around existing infrastructure.
The joint venture agreement is the first step in realising this innovative concept, in which wind turbines will be constructed over railway tracks on masts designed especially for this project. The concept will initially be piloted in the industrial area Sloehaven near Vlissingen. It is the only one of its kind in the world and seamlessly fulfils the strategy adopted by Jacqueline Cramer, Holland’s Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, to build wind farms in and around existing infrastructure.
Evelop Managing Director, Pieter Tavenier, said: “We are proud to be embarking on this unique project and are convinced that many more additional locations for wind energy can be developed with similar innovative projects.”
The pilot project is expected to start in 2011, with electricity first being generated in 2012. In consultation with municipal and provincial authorities and other stakeholders, an assessment will be conducted to determine how many Railwind turbines can be installed.
Pieter Tavenier believes “many more additional locations for wind energy can be developed with similar innovative projects.”
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