Viral Video: Istanbul’s Emerging Electricity Idea Inspires India

A thought-provoking video of uniquely innovative technology from 2017 in Istanbul goes viral on social media platforms today. Istanbul installed wind turbines ENLIL as road dividers that generate electricity using the air turbulence generated by traffic. It is a vertical turbine developed by Istanbul Technical University.

The tech firm Devecitech has been placed on roadsides in Turkey’s largest city to harness the wind generated by passing vehicles. The project was developed by entrepreneur Kerem Deveci. He initially produced the first prototype in his own room with the financial support of his friends.

But today, the whole world is looking at ENLIL as they seek to slash carbon emissions by using more and more renewable energy. ENLIL also uses its built-in sensors to keep track of temperature, humidity, carbon footprint, and earthquake activity to gather information for city authorities. Due to its small size, the device can also be installed in places unsuitable for traditional turbines, such as on the roofs of high-rise buildings.

The wind turbines are placed at Istanbul’s iconic 50-kilometre rapid transit bus line called the Metrobüs and it has attracted a great deal of interest from many municipalities and countries around the world. So far, the system installed has yielded successful results, generating power from the wind generated by the buses speeding through stops. It also serves as an earthquake monitoring station, improving the safety of the cities in which it is installed.

Now the video of the same goes viral on Twitter, leaving netizens surprised. Even the chairperson of Mahindra, Anand Mahinda shared the video and tweeted “Developed by Istanbul Technical University. Ingenious. Uses the wind generated by passing traffic. Given India’s traffic, we could become a global force in wind energy! Can we explore using them on our highways @nitin_gadkari ji?”. There are sufficient resources to produce electricity in India. But using Istanbul’s wind turbines, India can truly become a true surplus and responsive nation.