Could ‘wind trees’ with micro turbines be a solution to green energy in tight urban spaces?

From community solar farms to co-owned wind turbines, eco-inventors are coming up with new ways to bring renewable power into our homes.

Now, micro wind turbines designed to look like trees are addressing some of the challenges of green energy.

“As it is biomorphic, people cannot see at the first look that it is a renewable system,” says Luc Eric Krief, owner of New World Wind, the French company behind the ‘Aeroleaf’ technology.

The metal ‘trees’ have branches tipped with micro wind turbines resembling leaves.

“There is no visual pollution and we can install a bench around the tree for people to sit on,” continues Krief. The colour of the trunk and leaves can also be customised.

But the turbines’ looks aren’t their only appeal.

At between five and 10 metres tall, the trees are compact, making them easy to install - even in urban environments - without major engineering work. Once a turbine is in place, a single bracket and three bolts are all that’s needed to complete the construction.

Their size also eliminates some of the other problems faced by giant turbines, such as bird collisions. Plus, they operate in silence.

Rather than being connected to the national grid, the turbines provide energy directly to a building’s existing electrical system. “This is what we call self consumption,” explains Krief.

The aeronautic engineer, who acquired the company in 2017, is set to release a new design in January that will see the Aeroleaf’s power production triple. One leaf will be capable of producing up to 1,000 kilowatt hour (kWh) per year, giving the 36-leaf WindTree a maximum annual output of 36,000 kWh at a wind speed of 12 metres per second (m/s).

While it’s unlikely that wind conditions would remain steadily high around the clock,