DailyDirt: Building Better Wind Turbines
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
We’ve mentioned some wind power projects before, but wind is still a relatively small contributor to total energy production in the US. Sure, there are some problems with not having wind available 24/7 — as well as people complaining about bird deaths and a ruined view. Still, there are some solutions to some of these problems, and it might be nice to generate more electricity without burning fossil fuels.
- The Department of Energy is looking at bigger and better wind turbines to generate more wind energy. Towers over 100 meters tall could increase wind energy supply in the US beyond 5% of the nation’s electricity demands. [url]
- GE has an interesting design that improves wind turbine efficiency. A dome shaped attachment allows the blades on the turbine to harness more wind energy — not by an amazing amount, but any improvement is a good one to make things more cost effective. [url]
- Vortex is a bladeless wind turbine design from a Spanish company that oscillates in resonance with the wind. It doesn’t have as many moving parts, so it’s cheaper to build — and doesn’t kill birds or bats. If you’d like one, you can get a desktop scale model in its crowdfunding campaign. [url]
After you’ve finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.
Filed Under: crowdfunding, energy, turbines, vortex, wind, wind energy, wind power
Companies: ge, indiegogo, vortex bladeless
Comments on “DailyDirt: Building Better Wind Turbines”
That GE dome thing… looks like it doesn’t need to be as heavy as it is. 20,000 lbs?!? WTH?
“doesn’t kill birds or bats.”
Does it blow away bees too? Because that’s another thing people who don’t know anything about the topic think wind turbines do by design.
Maglev vertical wind turbine
Really wish they’d get one of these going..
Single turbine, producing enough power for 750,000 homes.
http://inhabitat.com/super-powered-magnetic-wind-turbine-maglev/
Why place them in the countryside?
Those non-rotating Vortex poles will be much more at home in the city, on top of high rises (and can even double as antennas).
The limiting factor is the required structural strength of the buildings for coping with the load of the turbines.
I expect there will be less civic unrest for this than any development in the countryside.
The second ones “This Captain America-Style Shield Makes Wind Turbines More Powerful” is… something.
I mean, its a simple object that only from the front and far away looks like a shield. But even then, Captain Amerika-Style? Do they have a patent/copyright on one of the oldest kind of shields or what?