A video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi talking about alternate uses of wind turbines with the CEO of Danish wind energy company Vestas is being widely circulated on social media.
Modi said that turbines used for producing wind energy can also extract moisture from the air in humid areas and produce clean drinking water. He also suggested that scientific ways can be developed to separate oxygen from atmospheric air and put to other uses.
In response to Modi’s suggestions to innovate towards creating a “three-in-one” wind turbine, Henrik Anderson, the CEO of Vestas, said that the prime minister should visit Denmark because he can be an important “idea generator” for them, challenging their research and development.
Modi’s suggestions invited trolling on social media, but he may not be entirely off the mark. A 2012 CNN report says that French engineering firm Eole Water claimed to have modified the traditional water turbine design to create an appliance that can produce drinking water from humid air.
“This technology could enable rural areas to become self-sufficient in terms of water supply. As the design and capabilities develop, the next step will be to create turbines that can provide water for small cities or areas with denser populations,” Thibault Janin, director of marketing at Eole Water was quoted as saying.
However, the website Water Filter Base has said that although Eole Water “pioneered the use of wind turbines to produce drinking water”, the company is no longer operational.
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