SEP 07

While we usually look at wind turbines chiefly as a cleaner, better source of electricity. But in many parts of the world, electricity is only one of several needs faced by much of the population. In answer to a broader set of needs, the Eole Water WMS1000 turbine uses some of the power that it produces to extract as much as 1200 liters (more than 315 gallons) of clean water per day by condensing it from the air.

The WMS 1000 produces up to 30 kW of electricity, in addition to the water it provides. That may not seem to be much compared to the grid scale turbines being installed throughout the developed world, but that can be significant to a community with more moderate energy needs. It is also designed to require little maintenance, since trained technicians may not be readily available where these turbines are deployed.

The turbine is a 13 meter (about 42.5 feet) diameter rotor with a 24 meter (78.75 feet) hub height. This makes it manageable and transportable, which are important considerations for deployment in remote locations. The WMS1000 is designed to be entirely self-sufficient, making it well suited to locations where there is no supply infrastructure for power or water. It also has very little environmental impact, emits no CO2, and does not impact surface water or underground water supplies.

Expected pricing for the turbine is around $600,000, but these units should have a lifespan of more than 20 years.

image via: Eole Water

via: Revmodo

Comments (7)

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Nifty Idea...
written by Fencerdave, September 07, 2012

Someone will say it eventually- By definition, places with great need for water supply tend not to have much water in the air, either. Low humidity could/will seriously hinder the efficiency of such a turbine.

It is certainly possible that this has already been accounted for in the numbers that Eole has published, but I don't see any indication of that at this point.

Hope to see later.

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Wow
written by Rw.Flynn, September 09, 2012

$600,000 does seem a bit prohibitively expensive, doesn't it? What community with "moderate electricity needs" can well afford that? Is this really a normal cost for a developing community's energy needs?

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Thats Great
written by Carrie, September 17, 2012

Expensive but maybe not if it is teamed up with the grains of rice freerice.com, mywaterbottle project charity water, care2 butterfly rewards and a all the other clean water projects.

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Let's run some numbers...
written by Hydrophilia, September 19, 2012

Does this make sense (and dollars)? At max production, assuming about $0.25/gal of water (worth it for clean distilled water?, the cost of power is under $0.50/kw.hr. Not bad..
If we made some wild assumptions and de-rate output to 50 gal/day and 30kw average and hold the value of water constant at $1/4gal, the cost of power skyrockets to nearly $7/kw.hr. This is more than a solar PV installation, but far less that batteries, so might be OK.
I'd say that this is interesting and creative and might be a very worthwhile installation in the right places, but the numbers matter and will vary.

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Desert Air has plenty of water in it
written by Matt, September 19, 2012

http://www.sciencedaily.com/re...091856.htm

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...
written by ghonadz, September 23, 2012

Good article and a very good and appropriate development that further increases the value of wind energy installations by also producing fresh drinkable water as well as non-polluting renewable energy. However, every manufacturer of wind turbines should definitely be incorporating the recently developed 'wind lens' design that doubles or triples the power output of wind turbines. See: http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/09/wind-lens/
Any turbine design that ignores this development is just plain stupid.

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@Matt
written by David Hurt, October 07, 2012

Thank you greatly for the article. I suppose that for a US-East-Coast boy like me, it's hard to imagine any place that dry having real water in the air.

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