Flying Wind Turbine

After studying the flying propeller design (propeller with a surrounding ring around it), I thought about using it on a wind turbine. The ring around the blades makes it heavier however stronger. Therefore, a lighter and thinner wind turbine blade can be designed to compensate for the additional weight while the ring provides strength to the tips.

I thought of a giant flying wind turbine. The ringed blades double as a helicopter propeller. The tower doubles as a battery. Transporting wind turbines to remote locations is not easy. Therefore, such design would allow the turbine to fly to the destination with minimal external help.

The rings around the turbine blades will generate small lift force during normal operation. This will reduce the stress on the tower during higher wind speeds. It will also allow the self-positioning of the blades depending on the wing direction. The tower of the turbine will be made of stacked lithium or sodium batteries. Its structure will be optimized to withstand the forces induced during operation.

Once the tower is assembled in a facility, its batteries will be fully charged. Then, gasoline powered drones will be attached to the tower. Afterwards, the wind turbine will be started in the helicopter mode using the battery on the tower. Coupled with the additional lifting power of the drones, the tower will take off and fly. These drones will also compensate for the rotation generated by the giant propeller like the tail rotors of a helicopter. Once in destination, the tower will be landed on the tower base pre build. Then, the tower will be electrically connected to the grid. The edge of the tower will be attached to the base. After that the turbine will be started once again in the helicopter mode powered by the grid electricity. It will then pivot over the attached edge with the help of the drones.

This setup would have limited range. However, recharging bases can be formed to extend the range. The built-in battery in the tower would keep supplying power to the grid when the wind is not available. As a result, almost every section of the wind turbine would be multipurposed to add more value. (Note: There will be an external elevator attached to the tower once it is erected.)