Building a low cost wind turbine in highways for rural house electricity demand

The main aim of this work is to design, fabricate, and test a wind turbine for power generation applications in rural areas. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines were selected to harness the energy from wind through the drag forces induced due to vehicular movements. Various parameters were analyzed for the design of a low-cost wind turbine. A Savonius blade was selected for the design, which could be accommodated on the median of the highways. By using recycled materials, a low-cost wind turbine was fabricated at a cost of $117.5 approximately. The wind turbine was placed on the houses and on the highway medians to test the power output at various operating conditions. Average electricity consumption at selected rural houses were calculated. The calculated average electricity demand during power cuts in the selected rural houses was around 0.2-0.6 kWh/day. Average generated electricity from the turbine at highways was observed to be around 0.67 kWh/day. The Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of the generated electricity from the proposed SWT on highways is around $0.04/kWh. The LCOE of the proposed design is relatively cheaper when compared with the conventional horizontal axis wind turbines. The energy demand during power cuts was met completely when the SWT was placed on the highways. (c) 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38: 278-285, 2019