Dutch Windwheel: development of breathtaking next generation wind mill gets into new phase
A 174 m high iconic shaped wind mill with 72 apartments and a hotel, using a self-supporting energy system and a closed drinking water and waste water cycle.
The ambitious plan by a consortium of Rotterdam-based companies and research institutes to build the Dutch Windwheel in the port of Rotterdam, progressed to the next stage on 14 January.
All eleven participants agreed to a programme to start development and testing of relevant innovative elements.
Scheme of the closed water cycle.
Dutch tradition of windmills
Holland and windmills are inseparable. Building on this rich history, the consortium initiated the development of a next generation windmill where people can live in.
Like in the old Dutch windmills that drained the many polders in the 17th and 18th century.
The eleven companies engaged in the programme, are AM and Royal BAM Group, Deltares, Dura Vermeer, ECN, Eneco, InnovationQuarter, Mammoet, SPIE, TNO and the Windwheel Corporation.
Nexus on energy, water and construction
The participants aim to develop, combine and scale all kinds of promising technological and technical innovations at the nexus of water, energy, technology and building technology.
Possibilities will be researched for local energy production, including electrostatic wind energy convertor (EWICON) technology, heat exchange, closing the water cycle, smart grid, and use of special materials.
Smart underground thermal energy storage
"The transition to new forms of energy at the interface between water and soil poses new questions", says Gerard Blom, unit manager freshwater systems at the research institute Deltares.
"Using our knowledge at this interface, we can examine what is feasible and make the ideas work. Our strength lies in the smart use of underground thermal energy storage", Blom adds.
Joint public-private roadmap
The consortium partners aim to collaborate with all levels of government on this challenge: the municipality of Rotterdam, the Province of South Holland, Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area and the national government.
These public parties have been invited to join a roadmap as the basis for the first quarter of 2016, when the innovation program will take shape.
Impression of the observation deck.
More information
Windwheel Corporation
Rotterdam, the Netherlands
+31 10 843 2395
www.dutchwindwheel.com
Announcement of the Dutch Windwheel: This is not a building.