• TOWERGEN wind farm design addresses future energy needs

    27 February 2014

    D:AESTemp0_windtowersect10a.dwg Model (1)As populations continue to grow and the built environment soars ever skyward, the one issue that will definelifestyles in coming decades relates to the provision of energy in a sustainable and environmentally sensitive manner.

    To this end, the expertise of internationally renowned tall buildings architects, 2DEFINE, has been retained to design and incorporate TOWERGEN,world’s first high rise wind farms, intourban and rural projects across United Kingdom.

    Founded in 2010 by internationally acclaimed architects, Marshall Strabala, Zhang Qiao and Zhou Shimiao, 2DEFINE Architecture specialises in complex, high-profile projects, with offices in Shanghai, Chicago and Seoul. With unrivalled experience in the design of super-tall buildings, performing arts venues, convention centres, museums, offices, and residential buildings, for the last 7 years, Strabala lead the design team of the second tallest building in the world, the 632-metre Shanghai Tower, scheduled for completion this year. Strabala was the Studio head at SOM who lead the design team for the 828m high, Burj Khalifa.  TOWERGEN projects in United Kingdom will be in the 500-600 metre height range, so each is a “super-tall building”.

    “I think this is the biggest challenge we have ever accepted and this is not a token green washing added to a structure, but a new typology in architecture,” states Strabala.  “Therefore, I think the right question to pose is: how can we integrate a vertical power plant with a viable building?”

    “This is just the start of a very long process, In the future, there will be structural engineers, vertical transportation engineers, MEP engineers, fire safety engineers, contractors and others all working on high-rise commercial and residential towers, just like any other architecture project.”

    “The TOWERGEN projects currently underway in United Kingdom (UK) are really no different than any other construction project, except that the goal is to create multiple buildings in multiple locations, rather than at one specific location. The UK project in North Hampton is in the early planning stages, however, no approvals are yet in place. The design is two-fold, namely, to provide new space for an existing hospital, and to provide clean energy for many surrounding thousands of households and businesses.”

    “The UK project in Holyhead is also in the early planning stages, but again, no approvals are yet in place. This concept  is the  same . If one wind tower generator provides 80MW of power, then three or four towers can provide 300+MW of clean electricity to any region.”

    The TOWERGEN System

    TOWERGEN is a 500-metre tall structure designed to support 70,000m2 to 100,000m2 of habitable space, generate 80 megawatts of clean power, and safely exist in any environment. When comparing rural wind farms and urban wind farms, the current state of the art large propeller-driven wind farms need about 100 hectares to generate 100 megawatts of power, whereas the TOWERGEN model is designed to generate 100 megawatts on only one hectare of land and is designed to use the bottom third of the tower for conventional office or residential use, while the top two-thirds, where the potential for energy generation is highest, is dedicated to power generation. The very  top is  planned as an observation deck, or similar public amenity.

    Addressing the issues of safety and simplicity, TOWERGEN technology is not a bladed design, that kills birds, but a simple modular stacked impeller design. TOWERGEN is also a franchise-focused clean energy power plant that can be adopted anywhere around the world.  The TOWERGEN super-tall structure model is a total integration of architecture with power plant, with the goal of creating a model that can be franchised to any city around the world to assist in the reduction of non-renewable energy consumption.

    all mainThe TOWERGEN system of high-rise wind farms are a solution, or at least a substitute, for the traditional large propeller-driven wind farms of today, with one single tower, rather than 150-300 towers that have until now occupied the large land areas required. TOWERGEN also utilises tried and tested generators already in use the field. These generators can also operate as the brakes when the wind speed is very high.

    This vertical high-rise windfarm design has a far superior energy output capability per acre than existing wind generation technologies because of the additional height =higher wind speeds = higher energy output = higher return on investment.  The outer vanes enclosed the super structutre, and reduce   friction experienced on the return stroke of the wind scoops and the notable need of occupying only 5% of the land acreage compared to existing land hungry windmill based wind-turbine technologies in use today.

    Andre Dean of Towergen stated, “We are not trying to replace these propeller farms but add a new product to the market that can work in places not suitable for the existing technology.

    TOWERGEN Projects

    long1a+SKYTOWERGEN is currently undertaking studies to deliver two projects in the United Kingdom. The first project being explored is for a large hospital in Hampshire, where additional real-estate facilities are required by the hospital, including car park facilities, nurses flats (one and two bedroom low cost flats – semi ‘single’ quarter style), additional accommodation (two and three bedroom flats), and office space plus executive office space with meeting rooms.

    This initiative will resolve both the facilities shortfall, as well as making the hospital the very first 100% green hospital in the world, using energy from sustainable, renewable sources.

    cardif_04_HOLYHEAD1The second project being explored is for a brown field site in conjunction with a large marina development in Holyhead, on the Anglesey Energy Island™. This is a programme that is a collective effort between several stakeholders within the public and private sector working in partnership to put Anglesey at the forefront of energy research and development, production and servicing, bringing with it potentially huge economic rewards.

    The Energy Island Programme could contribute nearly £25 billion to the Anglesey and North Wales economy over the next 15 years. It undoubtedly offers a once in a generation opportunity to give the economy a tremendous boost and this must be collectively grasped. The programme will also be a vehicle for employment growth and a catalyst for further development opportunities.

    Harnessing a rich mix of energy streams, including nuclear, wind, tidal, biomass and solar, together with associated servicing projects, provides major potential to achieve economic, social and environmental gains for Anglesey and the wider North Wales region.

    The Energy Island Programme is more than the energy industry and runs through all aspects of life for Anglesey and North Wales communities, for example, transport links, housing, plus tourism and leisure facilities to serve local people and visitors.

    In coming years, United Kingdom (UK) and many other countries are targeting a much higher level of sustainable energy production. TOWERGEN provides this solution and so much more. In the UK, each and every consumer is, or will be, required to achieve a certain level of green energy and purchasing this from a single local source will be required to achieve a stated level of green energy efficiency.

    office1Energy from wind is not consistent, wind farms are supplemental but the right system can significantly reduce fossil fuel consumption. Power generation from wind farms is dependent on height and location. Wind velocity and force increases with height. Energy production must also be consistent and reliable. Cities of the future seeking sustainable vertical unbanisation need clean, reliable energy generation, energy use reduction, and urban enhancement. The TOWERGEN high-rise wind farm addresses all requirements for the reliable production of clean energy utilising the cheapest and most abundant natural resource available into the future – wind.

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