London-based company, XC02, have released the latest in wind turbine technology on to the market - and already they've been inundated with orders in what is being seen as making a positive and high profile statement about small wind energy.

Aptly named the Quiet Revolution, the turbine is the result of three years work by a team headed by Richard Cochrane, a low-carbon buildings engineer with a background in aerodynamics who has spent the past four years advising on how to make buildings more energy efficient and the use of renewable technologies. It is what's known as a vertical axis turbine, most turbines being horizontal axis or propeller, which means that they need to be facing the direction of the wind to capture the wind’s energy and in urban areas where there are many varying heights of trees and buildings, the wind is constantly changing direction as it propels off these
objects and therefore the propeller turbine needs to keep stopping and turning around to face the direction of the wind."

The vertical axis turbine has three blades, twisted at approximately 120 degrees, and this means that there is always one part of one blade facing the wind giving the turbine a more consistent rotation. Vertical axis turbines
themselves are not new, but XC02 believe that they are the first to design a turbine with triple twisted blades.

Lets get a closer look at those twisted blades

One of the many positives of this turbine, how it came to get its name and hopefully one of the ways it will benefit the wind sector in general (especially where the windy nimbys are concerned!) is that they are almost silent. The
tip speed ratio is much lower than other turbines and the helical design ensure a consistent amount of blade faces the wind, whatever direction it is blowing, which ensures a smooth and vibration free rotation. The S shaped blades are also tapered which sheds the noise more evenly.

Robert Webb, CEO of XC02 says "This is a tremendously exciting time. We are seeing a huge interest in demand and are getting enquiries from around the world". This level of demand is making XC02 optimistic as they see it as evidence of a new industrial revolution happening, which is what renewables is all about!

"We see this turbine is a flagship," says Robert "a high profile product taking the debate into cities and changing people’s behaviour as they become more interested." Most of the strong interest so far has been from construction projects, developers and corporate organisations. The turbine available now is 5m in height and will deliver up to 10,000 kw hours per year, which could provide energy for up to five energy efficienthomes. XC02 are already working on a smaller model, more suitable for domestic installation, which will stand at 2.5m and deliver approximately 4,000 kw hours per year.

The first Quiet Revolutions are being installed over the next few months in London, Bristol and Swindon where they will change the face of urban renewable electricity.

We eagerly await their next domestic-suited design!