Wind Power

Renewable energy production and demand growth is gaining momentum in many ways across the world. There is a booming demand of wind power today and all wind energy equipment manufacturers are gearing up to meet the demand and take advantage of it. Wind power capacity growth will be reaching 447GW in the next five years and by year 2014 end, Asia will lead the world in installed wind capacity. Enercon is amongst the other manufacturers who are focusing on 3MV-class wind turbines based on E-82/2.0. Without increasing the component sizes, there are new designs to operate at 3MW power. There will be a 3-6% increased yield because of these innovative designs as claimed by the Enercon. 1 Comment

A fresh-water wind farm is taking shape at Lake Erie and when completed will provide 20 megawatts and get on to about one gigawatt power by 2020. Huge individual turbines 300 feet tall, to be built by GE will be erected off Ohio, Cleveland. Better designs: These are special gearless super-efficient turbines, with three 176-foot long blades, which run with the help of a giant ring of magnets. The blades are longer due to strategically placed carbon fibre, and lighter too. Many moving parts like gearbox, coils and starter brushes are eliminated with resultant reduced maintenance. The giant magnetic ring array helps the turbine generate power even at very low speed. Rejuvenating wind energy industry: As land-based turbines are facing a lack of interest and demand, wind energy industry is facing a setback. This new-design turbines to tap ... 5 Comments

Yes, the day is not far off when reaching for sky is the new motto for generating cost-effective renewable energy. Initially it was considered to be technically non-viable to tap high-altitude winds. But today, technically-advanced materials and innovative computer know-how are giving new life to this scheme with innovative autonomous aerial structures using wind energy to generate power. 5 Comments

Presently Fluid Dynamics Expert, John Dabiri, is very much on the quest of improving designs of wind turbines. Spotting behaviours that may throw light on energy-related practices in biological system and trying to implement that in real-life situations is part of that quest and Mr.Dabiri is jubilant that he is learning lessons from a school of fish! Water-energy, and wind energy are both studied. 2 Comments

A research company in New Hampshire recently patented its bladeless wind turbine, which is based on a patent issued to Nikola Tesla in 1913. This wind turbine is christened as the Fuller Wind Turbine. This turbine is developed by Solar Aero. The specialty of Fuller Wind Turbine is it has only one rotating part, known as the turbine-driveshaft. The entire machinery is assembled inside a housing. Wind turbines are often disliked by environmentalists because they kill birds and bats and often generate noise for the residents living nearby. 14 Comments

Now big companies are going green and proudly proclaiming it too from rooftops. Google Inc. has invested $38.8 million in two North Dakota wind farms. This is the first direct investment by Google in utility-scale renewable energy generation. These two wind farms produce 169.5 megawatts of power. These two wind farms can light up around 55,000 homes. These wind farms are designed by General Electric Co and created by NextEra Energy Resources. They generate power from one of the world's richest wind resources in the North Dakota plains. There is no need to lay down extra infrastructure for the two wind farms. Current transmission facilities are able to transmit power to the nearby areas. Google's official blog claims, "Through this $38.8 million investment, we're aiming to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy — in a way that makes good business sense, too." 15 Comments

Backed with a $3 million assistance from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) Wilbraham-based FloDesign Wind Turbine Corp. will expand its operations in the state. The company is recognized as the developer of a U.S. Department of Energy-recognized "transformative" wind energy technology. It will maintain its aerodynamic research center in Wilbraham along with establishing a new corporate headquarters and product development center in the historic Waltham Watch Factory. The company also intends to assemble its first wind turbines in Massachusetts. If everything goes according to the plan, the company will establish a new benchmark for other wind energy technology companies to look up to and aspire to. 17 Comments

Scientists believe that natural resources can meet the energy needs of the entire human population. Wind energy too has huge potential to generate power for us. Researchers are trying to trap offshore wind power. But there are still many hiccups that are preventing us from utilizing natural resources for our needs. Wind turbines produce intermittent power because the direction and strength of the wind varies. Scientists are trying to generate more or less consistent power from offshore winds. 5 Comments

As fossil fuels continue to diminish and climate change poses an ever-increasing threat, scientists around the world are searching for new and more efficient methods of generating energy. Wind energy is one of the more promising alternative energy sources and Norwegian scientists are currently in the development stages of what promises to be the world’s largest wind turbine. As if creating the biggest wind turbine in the world was not enough, it also floats. Current plans for the world’s largest wind turbine have the machine standing 533 feet tall. 4 Comments

The one knock on wind energy is that it is not portable. Until recently, there were few if any portable devices that were available to literally take wind power on the go. That is changing quick as there are several “back-pack” style devices that are on the market. The Rose Wind Turbine is the latest invention to be introduced to this ever growing energy niche. The Rose Wind Turbine is a small portable device that is small enough to fit into the trunk of the car and barely be noticed. However, once this portable wind turbine comes out, it is sure to turn heads. 16 Comments

Wind power has recently received a nice boost as one of the hottest forms of energy on the market. When comparing the recent market growth against all forms of energy, both renawables and non-renewables, wind turbines seem to be jumping to the head of the pack. While it still has a way to go before it catches up to solar, it is gaining ground rather quickly. Something that will help pick up the pace even further is new technology that is coming from FloDesign. Their truly unique wind turbine is actually based on the design of a jet engine instead of the traditional windmills that we see all across the country. Their concept seems to be a simple one, but it extremely effective. 20 Comments

With all the talk of going green, the question had been thrown out many times if there will ever be a time that we can use nothing but renewable energy to power our world. A small island in Denmark is trying answer that question with a resounding yes as they power up every single day via nothing but wind power. The Danish island is the ideal setting as the wind literally never stops blowing. The North Sea offers the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the winds that come off of the sea and for them to use wind power as their primary source of power. As a matter of fact, the wind power that they are using is their ONLY source of power. 18 Comments

Renewable energy is one of the hottest things on the market right now but until recently, solar power has been getting most of the attention. While there are plenty of techno gadgets, like solar briefcases and solar laptop chargers, that can have solar power on the run, very few if any items exist for other sources of renewable energy to become portable. The foldable wind generator has all the right ideas, but may still be just a bit ahead of its time. 11 Comments

Researchers at the Cornell University have taken inspiration from nature and tried to imitate the swaying of tree branches. So what is the difference between natural swaying of trees and energy-harvesting tree created by Cornell University researchers? The flapping leaves developed in the laboratory generate energy which can be utilized by us. They are christened as the “Piezo-tree.” The synthetic leaves of the “Piezo-tree” are connected to a piezoelectric stem. The whole exercise till now appears to be low-cost, and easily scalable. 10 Comments

It's an expert estimation that the total energy stored in wind is 100 times higher than actually needed by humans on this earth. The catch is that we have to learn and devise ways to trap this wind power blowing across the planet earth. Experts tell us one more thing that most of the wind energy is available at high altitude and we can’t manufacture turbines of that height. So we have to think of new ways to trap that wind power blowing at a significant height. Some experts estimate that the total energy contained in wind is 100 times the amount needed by everyone on the planet. However, most of this energy is at high altitudes, far beyond the reach of any wind turbine. 8 Comments

Of the total amount of electricity generated by all sources, about 75% is used by buildings, a major fraction of which is consumed by air conditioners. With the demand of renewable energy increasing with every passing day, inventors are trying to find the best possible means to store the generated energy during the best time, to provide power when the generators aren’t getting the resources they need. It is a natural phenomenon that the wind blows stronger at night than in the day. We don’t need that extra energy during nighttime. We can store this energy and use it during daytime when the load is too much on the grid. 3 Comments

When people thought about telephones in underdeveloped countries it was like they would have to invest a huge sum in infrastructure in the form of poles, wires and equipments. No one imagined about cell phones at that time. They transcend most of the infrastructures. In this hour of impending depletion of fossil fuels we have to think differently. The steps may seem small today but they might leave a huge impact in future. Today we can’t be a bystander and watch the energy scene passively. 14 Comments

GE, the US industrial group, is promoting and showing confidence in offshore wind technology by buying ScanWind, which makes direct-drive turbine components. This move will help in generating thousands of new jobs in the field of designing and manufacturing turbines. This move will affirm the confidence of investors in the fledgling offshore wind industry, which has been weighed down by concerns about costs and reliability. GE is moving ahead with establishing turbine manufacturing facilities to serve the European markets at first. They have to make up their mind about the size of the investment and location. 14 Comments

Off shore wind is steady and blows harder. If a country is densely populated it is hard to find open space to install wind farms. That is why there are more and more offshore wind farms in densely populated Europe where there is limited space on land and relatively large offshore areas with shallow water. Scientists of the Geesthacht GKSS Research Centre are interested in offshore winds and mechanics of sea waves. They are working on a radar system to study the behavior of the sea waves. This technology will be available for utilization on the North Sea on the FINO3 research platform. This technology will help in finding out the details of the interactions between offshore wind power machines and swells. 1 Comment

Some of the African regions are so hot that unless you're are accustomed to that climate it is not possible for your to survive. Extreme temperatures also generate extreme winds and perhaps this is the reason wind farms have great potential in Africa. Some 365 giant wind turbines will be installed in desert around Lake Turkana in northern Kenya to create the biggest wind farm in Africa. Once completed -- tentatively in 2012 -- the £533m project, backed by the African Development Bank, will have a capacity of 300MW, a quarter of Kenya's current installed power and one of the highest proportions of wind energy to be fed in a national grid anywhere in the world. 10 Comments