Harnessing energy from tornadoes

Western University engineer Louis Michaud has received an investment of $300,000 for a start-up company that aims to harness energy from controlled tornadoes created for this purpose. A single twister-generator machine could produce as much energy as a coal-fired power plant without the downside of greenhouse gas emissions. Michaud has successfully proven the Atmospheric Vortex Engine idea using a 13-foot diameter version and is now working with Lambton College in Ontario on a 26-foot-wide-by-20-foot-tall outdoor prototype that will create tornadoes up to 1.6-feet wide and 164-feet tall. The tornado is created by introducing warm, humid air into a circular device. This causes the warm air to spin as it rises, forming a small, anchored tornado-like vortex. The heat source can be solar energy or waste heat and the tornado could propel wind turbines in an environmentally friendly way. The tornado can be stopped by removing the warm air. If the device is successful Michaud envisions a larger device that could generate 200 megawatts - the equivalent of a large, coal-fired power plant with around 20 turbines at the base to generate electricity. Credit: Western University Read more here: http://www.energyharvestingjournal.com/articles/harnessing-energy-from-tornadoes-00005066