Green Fee Awardee 2017: Designing and Building a Multiple-Rotor Triboelectric Wind Turbine

A wind turbine was developed which incorporates a direct current triboelectric nanogenerator (DC-TENG) at the interface between pairs of rotors. A row of these rotor-generator-rotor sets contains several rotors of varying sizes, enabling operation under a wide range of wind speeds. The final wind turbine contains several horizontal rows of rotors secured in varying orientations to capture wind from all angles. The resulting array is to be installed on campus and used to charge a battery bank, converting the kinetic energy of the wind into easily accessible electrical power. Ultimately, as the various components of the turbine are improved, it is intended to slightly mitigate the carbon footprint of Union College. This presentation will clarify the motivation for this project, address key features of the final design, and propose improvements we hope students will explore in the future.