POWERING ON
West Australian inventor Graeme Attey is also tapping into the green revolution. The founder of inline board sport company Dirtsurfer International has developed a way to generate electricity for homes using wind power. His modular wind turbine is small enough to sit on the roof of a house and is expected to be released on to the market later this year.
An industrial designer, Attey says
he has “dabbled” in turbines since the early 1980s but lost focus because of other business ventures. A desire to power his own home using wind and solar technology prompted him to put his inventor’s hat on again.
“I started from scratch really,” he says.
The advantages of Attey’s turbine are considerable: there are no visible rotating blades, it is quiet and relatively inconspicuous, and it operates in variable urban winds. Research and development has been completed on the aerodynamics of the design, prototypes are being made and pre-production trials loom.
Attey says: “It’s not going to be suitable for every urban home because some homes are in real wind hollows … but most houses catch reasonable amounts of wind.”
Significantly, the wind turbine is also suitable for use on office blocks and towers, expanding its market potential. Interest is already high. Attey has been awarded $34,000 by the West Australian Government to help commercialise the turbine system, while a private company has expressed interest in funding the venture. He hopes his invention will contribute to a greener nation.
“If home owners around the country derive 20 per cent of their power from renewable sources – from solar and wind – that would be a huge advantage to Australia.”
