Wind
Wind turbines, predominantly constructed from glass fiber reinforced plastics, are vulnerable to fractures and flaws that can be impossible for the human eye to detect - and even the cracks visible to humans can often only be spotted in a time-consuming and dangerous examination. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute say that their latest robot creation, RIWEA, can solve both problems to increase the overall efficiency of the wind energy system. Read More
Windspire: low cost, small footprint wind power alternative
While wind turbines are a clean, green way to generate power, they can be a bit of an eyesore and require quite a bit of room meaning, more often than not, they need to be located in sparsely populated areas far from where the generated power is actually needed. We’ve looked at AeroVironment’s innovative urban solution as well as StatoilHydro’s HyWind. Now a look at another innovative product - Windspire. The Windspire, from Reno, Nevada based Mariah Power, combats the large footprint problem by employing a propeller-free design that makes it ideal for rural, suburban, and even some urban residential environments. Read More
Kinesis' K2 device combines a wind turbine, solar panel and internal 3800mAh battery to create a smart charger for all your handheld gadgets The device can be left in a sunny or windy place during the day and can be charge the internal battery 20 hours via wind alone or 8 hours via solar (in direct sunlight) or presumably less than 8 hours by both simultaneously. Read More
