Billions of people around the world continue to lack access to sanitation, electricity, and pure drinking water. In India, 88 million people are deprived of safe drinking water owing to various reasons such as dry climatic conditions, groundwater contamination, or depletion. 

Madhu Vajrakarur, an electrical engineering student from Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh, is also one of the many in the country without access to a continuous supply of electricity or clean drinking water. 

Madhu says, “I was born and brought up in Vajrakarur village where the main source of water supply is through borewells and water tankers. The water drawn from the borewells is heated and then used for consumption. When there are no rains, the groundwater level drops and we are dependent on purchasing drinking water from tankers.” 

Madhu’s father is a farmer and his mother is a housewife, so their income is low. On some occasions, they could not afford to buy the water while other times they would depend on borrowing from neighbors. 

So, this young innovator came up with an unconventional solution. He designed a wind turbine behind his house, which produces both electricity and drinking water.

Simple and effective 

The 15-foot tall wind turbine gathers moisture from the atmosphere. This is directed through a copper pipe, like the ones used in refrigerators, and finally reaches a three-stage filter.

The moisture in the wind is directed into the wind turbine's frame using a blower placed at the back of the fan. Once this cool air goes into the long frame, the moisture is directed into the cooling compressor which condenses the air into water. The water is then directed through copper pipes into a three-stage filter with membrane filters, carbon filters, and UV filters to collect any dust particles present. 

Clean water from the wind turbine

Finally, the clean water is accessed through a tap placed on the frame. The water is also collected in an external tank with 40 liters of capacity. The wind turbine is connected to an inverter with 30-kilowatt capacity and Madhu uses this to power fans, lights, and plug-points in his home.

The wind turbine was made using plastic pipes, iron rods, and some other elements that Madhu purchased online. He started making the turbine in the first week of October 2020 and finished it within 15 days. He took help from welders to make the fan, and his friends helped him deploy the structure. It cost him a total of Rs 1 lakh, which was provided by his parents and from his own savings.

The inspiration 

Building a wind turbine has been Madhu’s dream since the second grade when he first studied it. Back then, he did not have the experience or technology to make a real one but he would make model versions of it using cardboard for science exhibitions organized in school. 

In the second year of college, he learnt how to make solar power grids, and automatic street lights. This gave him the practical knowledge to work with such technology. By watching videos on Youtube he learned more about making a wind turbine that can generate water and electricity. He made drawings of the design, sourced the necessary raw material and started making it. 

Today, the wind turbine provides him with 80 to 100 liters of water every day and Madhu can cut down on high electricity bills from using a motor to pump water from borewells. His neighbors also benefit from the wind turbine whenever they are short on drinking water. 

Madhu is hoping to commercialize his design and help others by setting up this wind turbine in water-scarce areas.