PORTSMOUTH, UK, September 3, 2008. A product design student at the University of Portsmouth, UK, has designed a £20 wind turbine from recycled materials.

The 11.3 W turbine is 1.8m wide and charges a battery that could run lighting for 63 hours or a radio for about 30 hours, according to the student, Max Robson.

The turbine, which can be built by unskilled workers in less than a day anywhere in the world, was created to “help those in the poorest parts of the world”.

“This isn’t going to change lives in the developing world dramatically but a device like this could make their lives a lot easier. It cost me £20 to build the prototype and in the developing world it would be a lot less. The nearest alternative wind turbine on the market costs £2,000,” Robson says.

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