Posts Tagged wind energy

China’s Wind Energy Investments at an All-Time High

Posted by Leigh Kim in Wind Power on February 5, 2013

In China, wind energy is quickly overtaking coal and hydro power to become a major source of electricity. In fact, wind energy in China now accounts for 5.3 per cent of the country’s generating capacity and supplies about 2% of its electricity. However, China has such a major air pollution issue that 2% wind energy [...]

Alternative Energy Sources May Reduce the Gulf States’ Reliability on Fossil Fuels

Posted by Leigh Kim in Energy news on November 27, 2012

The Gulf desert states are some of the largest greenhouse gas polluters in the world. Fossil fuels are consumed at record speed thanks to desalination, large-scale construction projects, and widespread air conditioner use. Projects fueled by the gas and oil industry also contribute to large scale fossil fuel consumption. To add insult to injury, Saudi [...]

Will High Altitude Kites Replace Wind Turbines?

Posted by Leigh Kim in Wind Power on November 20, 2012

Could stunt kites be the future of energy? Could high altitude kites replace the tried-and-true wind turbine? A Berlin-based wind energy developer is betting YES. NTS GmbH is attempting to harness the wind with high flying kites and convert the captured energy into electricity. NTS GmbH realized that while stunt kites are used for extreme [...]

Biodegradable Blades for Wind Turbines Could Green Up the Wind Industry

Posted by Leigh Kim in Wind Power on November 20, 2012

The United States currently has enough wind turbines to power 12 million homes and is growing by leaps and bounds, and wind energy is clearly the future of alternative energy. But few know there is a seedy side to this renewable energy. Unbeknownst to many, petroleum-based resins constitute the physical components of wind turbines, and [...]

“Saphonian” Bladeless Wind Turbine Doubles Efficiency

Posted by Leigh Kim in Wind Power on November 8, 2012

Wind energy has the potential to power the word, and innovators are trying to find new technologies that harness the energy in the most efficient, cost effective way. Conventional bladed wind turbines are fantastic in theory, but in reality they do not always harness energy efficiently and can be prohibitively expensive. Saphon Energy is one [...]

Wind Turbine Innovator Inspires Community Involvement

Posted by Leigh Kim in Wind Power on November 7, 2012

On October 25, Kean Stimm of Kean Wind Turbines, Inc. announced his self-proclaimed engineering breakthrough to the Springville Area Chamber of Commerce and Springville-Griffith Institute high school upperclassmen. Stimm’s goal for the lecture was to inspire the next generation of engineers and activists and to highlight the importance of community involvement in realizing sustainable energy [...]

“Eggbeater” VAWT Design More Powerful and Efficient

Posted by Leigh Kim in Wind Power on November 2, 2012

The Darrieus eggbeater vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) has a new iteration which claims to produce 35% more annual kilowatt hours than any other turbine within the same swept area and price point. The new iteration produces considerably more power at a mounting point 25% lower than competitors thereby enabling the point of use to [...]

Wind Turbine Inspections Get More Reliable: Camera-Equipped Robots

Posted by Mike Sandru in Wind Power on June 19, 2012

Wind turbines require maintenance and regular inspections, which so far implied a high-power telescope maneuvered by a man 100 meters below the blades. GE Global Research, in partnership with Ithaca, is looking to improve the procedure by introducing a robot device with a camera on its back for more precision. What was first of all [...]

The First Floating Wind Farm to Replace Fukushima Nuclear Plant

Posted by Mike Sandru in Nuclear Power, Wind Power on March 9, 2012

The Fukushima disaster in the spring of 2011 was first of all an environmental disaster for Japan. But like the Phoenix bird that is reborn from its own ashes, the site could become the home of world’s first offshore, floating wind farm. The government intends to install two 7-megawatt turbines and another 2-megawatt turbine off [...]

Wind Harvester – New Horizontal Wind Turbine That Produces Energy From Low Winds

Posted by Mike Sandru in Wind Power on February 28, 2012

If you’ve only seen wind turbines in a picture and never really been up there next to one, you probably don’t realize how much noise it makes and how picky it can be: it needs its own space around and high winds to go with it. Don’t worry, you haven’t been missing much – especially [...]

World's Largest Wind Farm in Wyoming to Be Equipped with 1000 Wind Turbines

Posted by Mike Sandru in Wind Power on January 19, 2012

Although the word “wind farm” makes you think about a bunch of wind turbines, it’s usually not more than a few of them cluttered together or at best, a few hundred. But when you say the Wyoming wind farm, then you know you’re talking big. How big? Like 1000-wind-turbines big! The 2500 GW to be [...]

700 MW Offshore Wind Farm Built by Swedish Government

Posted by Mike Sandru in Wind Power on January 12, 2012

Building wind farms off the coast is quite pricey, but it will totally be worth the cost: winds out there are very strong and the potential for energy really high. One of the places that can boast with having this potential is in the Baltic Sea, near Sweden’s southeastern shores. The country already has 6 [...]

KiteGen Plans to Harvest High-Altitude Wind Power More Efficiently

Posted by Mike Sandru in Wind Power on December 21, 2011

A new power generating technology has recently given the phrase “go higher” a new meaning. The KiteGen technology has literally taken the wind turbines to new heights never dreamed before, way more than 100 metres. The reason? The upper they go, the more chance they have of capturing stronger winds and increasing their efficiency (although [...]

Windstalk Harvests Wind Power Without Using Blades

Posted by Mike Sandru in Wind Power on October 21, 2011

We all know that wind turbines are one of the most used solutions for clean energy generation but like all things they have bad parts like noise from their blades, inadvertent bat and bird kills. New York design firm Atelier DNA claims it has found the key to solve these issues. The company has come [...]

Enel Green Power Invests $250 Million in Oklahoma Wind Farm

Posted by Mike Sandru in Green Policy on October 17, 2011

Enel Green Power North America (EGP-NA), a leader in renewable energy generation, and Trade Wind Energy began construction of the Rocky Ridge wind farm, owned 51% by EGP-NA. The wind farm is located in the state of Oklahoma. Enel claims that their investment in this project is of about $250 million. The new wind farm’s [...]