Renewable Energy: Wind Turbine Applications in Vibration and Wave Harvesting

Abstract

Wind turbines are famous devices used for generating electricity from wind energy but they can now be in various applications wherein they are used for harvesting energy from vibrations and wave motions of the sea. This article analyses the applicability of wind turbine technologies for harvesting energy from vibration and wave of the environment thus adding a new face to the renewable energy resource. Combining vibration and wave methods of energy generation with the conventional wind turbines make it possible to capture energy in a more diverse and productive way, especially where there is both winds and great waves, as is in the coastal and offshore regions. The article brings out details relating to these systems, pertaining to piezoelectric and electromagnetic processes of converting mechanical energy into electrical power. It also considers the prospects of electromechanical hybrid systems of wind, wave, and vibration energy conversion to produce maximum power and ensure high efficiency. Some of the problems like integration of the system, optimization of its efficiency, and ways in which these elements are affected by external environment are considered. Examples of the scientific and experimental and operating projects in one or more areas of this technology remarks on possible advantage and real world use of this technology. Hence, exploring the versatility of wind turbine applications as a means of producing electricity through vibration and wave energy can be considered as an innovative breakthrough to the future of renewable energy systems.