Wind Power Advances for June 2009

The news has been a little thin lately on the wind power front, but low and behold this week there were some surprising stories!

In the face of the fact that most local utilities aren’t publicizing their alternative energy or energy efficiency programs very well at all (http://earth2tech.com/2009/06/10/electric-utilities-fail-to-promote-their-energy-efficiency-initiatives/) it seems that most alternative energy solutions have an uphill battle to get people to install them.  We need these programs publicized so that people will realize that they can afford both solar and wind power!

With that in mind we have a new product over in the UK that can provide site specific data on how soon your proposed wind or solar equipment will pay back. The story is via Greenbang (http://www.greenbang.com/new-device-gives-site-specific-data-on-solar-wind-potential/) and the device looks pretty good and should be affordable. I just hope that we can get it imported tot he United States.

There is also good news in the way of a just published study by the American Wind Energy Association where the US added 17.2 megawatts of wind power generation capacity in 2008! The full story is here on CleanBeta (http://www.cleantechlawandbusiness.com/cleanbeta/index.php/3980/small-wind-energy-market-no-longer-small/).

Lastly today we have stories on 2 small wind turbines that can generate usable amounts of power with winds as low as 2mph.  The first story is via Ecogeek (http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2790/) and talks about the Honeywell system that will actually be sold through a local hardware store chain. The price is supposed to be around $6000 installed for a 2000kw system.

The other story is via Ecofriend (http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-tech-windtronics-latest-creation-converts-the-slowest-of-winds-into-electricity/) and cover a product from Windtronics that has similar performance characteristics and a similar price point.

So now I have a new summer project, first get the site data device and decide which turbine fits my needs!

As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com

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Wind Power Update – November 3, 2008

On the night before the national election what better subject to talk about the wind….Certainly if we harnessed all of the energy put forth by all of the speeches given just over the last month, well just imagine!

Seriously, there continue to be advancements in wind power technology as is certainly evidenced by the Swift Wind Turbine (http://www.swiftwindturbine.com/).  This micro sized wind turbine may be just the thing for your home or business.  Ecogeek.org (http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2252/86/) wrote a good article on this device and unfortunately like him I am in a class 1 wind potential area.  On the Swift website there is an option to find out what the potential payback might be for your location.

However if you are industrious enough you can get in to wind power much cheaper than the some other options by building your own wind turbine. Ecofriend.org (http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-diys-vertical-axis-wind-turbine-made-from-pvc-pipes/) has discovered a great DYI on the Instructable.com website (http://www.instructables.com/id/V8_4quot_vawtsavoniusvertical_axiswind_turbin/).

I am very proud also tonight of a group of protesters who are taking on Pacific Gas and Electric over a ballot proposition that makes it easier to install alternative energy equipment in the San Fransisco area.  A great photo set can be found here: http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/10/29/prop-h-protesters-construct-wind-turbines-at-pge-offices/ where they are setting up wind turbines in front of the PG&E offices.

Lastly I want to remind all of you that Congress did include a $4000 investment tax credit on the omnibus bank bailout for qualified small wind turbines.  A good write up of the possibilities is to be found here on ecopolitology.org (http://ecopolitology.org/2008/10/22/congress-passes-new-small-wind-tax-credit/).

As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com

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Wind Turbines – Small enough for your house?

I have been looking for some time into ways to reduce my utility bills.  I have of course looked a solar power in its various forms and have decided to wait a little longer.  However if I can find a wind turbine small enough and with a low enough start up speed I may be a buyer.

I am especially interested in the vertical axis models.  All reports of these suggest that they are more effcient and generate more power at lower startup speeds.  A recent article covering the American Wind Power Associations’s recent conference suggests much promise very soon.

http://cleantechnica.com/2008/06/20/vertical-axis-turbines-the-future-of-micro-wind-energ/

I mentioned in an earlier post about Jay Leno, the Tonight Show host installing one of these on his private garage.  The maufacturer of that particular unit is here: http://www.pacwind.net/

My problem is that most of the micro sized units need a start speed of around 8 mph and of course a fairly constant wind.  Now I live some what near the beach in Southern California and get a fairly constant breeze every afternoon and early evening.  The wind I get on this regular basis does not provide enough for the current crop of equipment to generate any useful amount of power on a regular basis.

A good listing of these are to be found here: http://cleantechnica.com/2008/03/21/the-five-best-micro-wind-turbines/

This is where my interest in the vertical and horizontal units comes in. In many cases these configurations have a lower start speed ( as low as 4 mph), require less overall space and are more friendly to local birds.

The two most interesting sites on these types of turbines that I have found are:

BroadStar, an English firm: http://www.broadstarwindsystems.com/home.php

And Windside, a Finnish firm: http://www.windside.com/products.html

Lastly I have a recommendation for a book on the subject that I have ordered:

Wind Energy Basics by Paul Gipe: http://store.sundancesolar.com/wienbagutosm.html

This is subject I am continuing to follow and hope along with you that it advances significantly soon and becomes affordable to the masses.

As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com

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Wind Power gets a facelift

Solar power usually gets all of the headlines but there have been several stories lately showcasing the advances in wind power technology.

The most spectacular is the giant wind farm being created in Texas, land of all things large…. First publicized over a year ago T. Boone Pickens of oil fame proposed a 200,000 acre wind farm that cover s parts of 4 counties and could generate enough power for 1 million homes. Well on May 20, 2008 the company Mr. Pickens founded for this endeavor, Mesa Power placed an order for the first phase of 2 billion dollars worth of wind turbines from GE. The initial order is for 667 1.5 megawatt turbines.

Full Story at Ecogeek.org: http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1656/1/

Several other recent stories concern making the wind turbines smaller, better looking and more accessible to the average homeowner. One product is the Small Wind turbine being marketed by Quiet Revolution (http://www.quietrevolution.co.uk/). Another is the trend toward making these smaller turbines architecturally compatible with the building. (http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1747/86/)

The next item I found was one mention in Popular Science Magazine (http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-05/ten-times-turbine) This is where an inventor went against the common wisdom where a bigger rotor is better and instead he has figured out how to use a lot of smaller rotors to generate more power. The design is a little scary looking to me as it is this line of madly spinning rotors on a cable supported on one end by a balloon.

Lastly we have 2 concepts to talk about. The first by Magenn Power Inc. (http://www.magenn.com/)

This is the Magenn Air Rotor System (MARS) and it is a tethered balloon structure. Excerpt for the company web site: “MARS is a lighter-than-air tethered wind turbine that rotates about a horizontal axis in response to wind, generating electrical energy. This electrical energy is transferred down the 1000-foot tether for immediate use, or to a set of batteries for later use, or to the power grid. Helium sustains MARS and allows it to ascend to a higher altitude than traditional wind turbines. MARS captures the energy available in the 600 to 1000-foot low level and nocturnal jet streams that exist almost everywhere. MARS rotation also generates the “Magnus effect” which provides additional lift, keeps the MARS stabilized, and positions it within a very controlled and restricted location to adhere to FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) & Transport Canada guidelines.”

Very interesting concept which would allow power generation in remote areas with small amounts of infrastructure. Lastly there is the MAGLEV, a magnetically levitated wind turbine. In the story via Inhabitat.com (http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/11/26/super-powered-magnetic-wind-turbine-maglev/) this device is supposed to power 750,000 homes and the pictures scale it as a very large device. I am somewhat skeptical that there will be a consistent market for such large devices. However I have been surprised before.

As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com

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Technology Friday – Wind Power

Last week we touched on the latest from the world of solar power and I thought that the alternative energy solution with the larger installed base deserved equal time. I am of course talking about wind power.

This technology has shown just as much promise and progress in the last few years as its higher profile cousin, solar. Wind power just doesn’t seem to get as much media coverage as solar power. That hasn’t stopped it seemingly unstoppable march forward as even Hollywood stars are embracing wind power.