This is one of the main advantages of the TwerlyTM, developed by Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and entrepreneur Nikolas Jankovich with funding from the East London Industrial Development Zone, and one that sets the rare hybrid apart from other energy-driven street lights on the market, which are typically solar-powered only.
“In coastal cities particularly, it’s beneficial to harvest both,” said NMMU mechanical engineering Associate Professor Russell Phillips (pictured above), who came up with the original concept and engineered the Twerly’s vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). This works in tandem with a standard 140W photovoltaic solar panel to power a standard LED street light.“With a charged battery and both power sources switched off, it can last two and a half nights without a problem.”
Costing around R61 000, the outlay price is steep – but less so when you consider it will provide free electricity for the next 30 years and there are no cables under the ground, said Phillips. “An ordinary electricity-powered street light costs about R30 000.”
The TwerlyTM is also an “intelligent street light” – with embedded technology than can be linked to surveillance cameras and wifi hot spots. Controlled and monitored remotely, it can provide real time data on everything from battery life to renewable energy availability. Additional solar panels can also be added.
Phillips said the VAWT makes the turbine “totally quiet”, unlike its noisier horizontal propeller-type counterparts (like those used in wind farms), and better-suited for residential areas. It also takes up less space than a horizontal axis wind turbine – and can fit into the same space as an ordinary street light.
Jankovich entered an agreement with the university to produce the TwerlyTM, which has been refined in the roll-out process by NMMU’s engineering technology institute, eNtsa. The project took five years to go from a post-graduate research project to a commercial product.
Jankovich is targeting new developments such as office parks and upmarket housing estates for the new street light, along with informal settlements where there is currently no electricity.
“The Twerly will change people’s lives,” he said.