A NOVA turbine design

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A UK project aimed at assessing the feasibility of a new design of wind turbines that uses large vertical wings has been awarded funding by the Energy Technologies Institute.

A UK project aimed at assessing the feasibility of a new design of wind turbines that uses large vertical wings has been awarded funding by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI).

Project Novel Offshore Vertical Axis (NOVA) is one of four programmes to receive a share of the £20m funding put forward by the ETI in the hope of boosting the UK’s efforts in achieving its 2020 energy goals.

The consortium, which has been put together by Wind Power Limited, will include representatives from the universities of Cranfield, Sheffield and Strathclyde, and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) alongside Qinetiq and offshore engineering company James Ingram Associates.

Project NOVA’s wind turbine design is based on an invention by David Sharpe that involves a pair of 120m V-shaped composite wings rotating around the central axis to create power.

The design is believed to benefit from lower lifecycle costs due to fewer moving parts and a reduced sensitivity to wind direction.

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