Western Railway (WR) authorities have decided to install two wind turbines near Bhayandar to produce energy using the velocity of trains. Keeping in mind the large number of trains in the suburban section, WR decided to set up two wind turbines on a pilot project basis, and if successful, the project will be tried across the suburban section in the future.
"The Mumbai suburban section of WR witnesses more that a thousand train services daily, with a high frequency, especially during peak hours. This will definitely increase the energy production capacity of the turbines," a WR official said, adding that the approximate cost of this pilot project, to be completed within a month, is Rs 10 lakh.
Asked about daily production, the official said that both turbines will generate around 50 units of electricity per day.
How it works
The wind turbine converts wind energy into electricity using the aerodynamic force from the rotor blades, which work like an airplane wing or helicopter rotor blade. When wind flows across the blade, the air pressure on one side of the blade decreases.
The difference in air pressure across the two sides of the blade creates both lift and drag. The force of the lift is stronger than the drag and this causes the rotor to spin. The rotor connects to a generator, either directly (if it's a direct drive turbine) or through a shaft and a series of gears (a gearbox) that speed up the rotation and allow for a physically smaller generator.
This translation of aerodynamic force to the rotation of a generator creates electricity.
