Researchers present the first fully AI-designed wind turbine it’s 7x more efficient in cities [Video]

Wind energy is a cornerstone of renewable transition. But while scaling wind turbines up has proven effective for large-scale applications, scaling them down for urban environments remains a significant challenge. Wind speeds in cities, often as low as 3–4 meters per second, are about 2–3 times lower than the efficiency sweet spot for conventional turbines. To unlock wind energy’s potential in urban areas, new designs must cater specifically to these lower speeds and turbulent conditions.

Enter the AI-designed turbine.

The system takes into consideration the wind conditions of the city where it is meant to be deployed — in this case, Birmingham, UK — and optimizes the design to account for these conditions.

AI powered design

“We needed a turbine that could capture Birmingham’s relatively low wind speeds while managing turbulence caused by surrounding buildings” explained Leonard Nicusan, Chief Technology Officer of EvoPhase. “The …