Environment
Michigan National Guard tests novel wind funnels
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By QING ZHANG
Capital News Service
LANSING –The Michigan National Guard is spending $1.5 million on two new machines to generate electricity from wind at Camp Grayling near Grayling and the Fort Custer Training Center near Battle Creek. Unlike traditional windmills, the system captures wind from all directions, concentrating and accelerating it before sending it through a turbine on the ground, according to its designer, Sheerwind Co. The Minnesota-based company calls the design INVELOX, which stands for INcreased VELocity. Sheerwind says the system generates six times more electrical energy than conventional wind turbines and can work at wind speeds as low as 2 mph. And it’s cheaper to build and operate.