Malawi Boy Harnessed Electric Wind in Africa

William Kamkwamba was a young teenager when his family's poverty forced him to give up formal schooling. He found some books at a tiny local library that explained the principles of electricity and physics in pictures and diagrams; because the books were in English, a language he did not speak or read, he studied the images to figure out how he might create a wind machine to generate power. From a nearby junkyard, he gathered scrap metals, an old bicycle dynamo, a tractor fan, a bicycle wheel and frame, and PVC pipe. He assembled them atop a tower from branches that he cut from blue gum trees in his village. He didn't even have tools, but fashioned his own to create his windmill. He ran a wire from his wind generator to his house to power a couple of lightbulbs. Eventually his story became news, he became famous and he became a student at Dartmouth College studying engineering. His windmill has propagated into several windmills and solar panels that provide electricty and irrigation to his small village in Malawi.

Prep School in Hawaii Builds a Renewable Energy Lab for Its Students

Not only is the Energy Lab at Hawaii Preparatory Academy designed and constructed using sustainable principles, it helps students learn how the features work. The building supplies its own energy needs from photovoltaic and windmill sources, using only eight percent of the energy it produces with the rest net-metered to the campus grid. Its rainwater capture system filters and supplies all of the building’s domestic water, and solar thermal panels provide hot water. The building is designed for natural ventilation and uses a natural radiant cooling system instead of mechanical air conditioning. With sensors and monitoring for all systems, students are able to track all building functions - and the building can self-regulate its internal climate.

South African Winds Blow Hard for Football (Soccer)

"The World Cup is an important event for South Africa's future and we wanted to show that renewable energy has a big part to play in that future. We wanted to show the world that it is possible to do renewable energy not just in Europe, but in Africa as well," said Tanguy du Monceau, managing partner at carbon consultancy CO2logic, in an interview with Business Green. Sow the world they did, as Belgium-based wind farm developer Electrawinds won the race to connect its first South African wind turbine to the grid ahead of the opening ceremony on 11 June 2010. It began providing energy free of charge to the Nelson Mandela Bay Football Stadium in Port Elizabeth where many of the World Cup games were scheduled to play in the tournament.

Bladeless Wind Turbine Won't Harm Birds

A bladeless wind turbine whose only rotating component is a turbine/driveshaft could generate power at a cost comparable to coal-fired power plants, according to its developers at Solar Aero. The New Hampshire-based company recently announced its patent on the Fuller wind turbine, which is an improvement on a patent issued to Nikola Tesla in 1913. The bladeless wind turbine is completely enclosed in a relatively small compact unit. Instead of using wind-powered blades to rotate a shaft and generator, the Tesla-inspired design consists of an array of closely spaced, parallel, thin metal disks separated by spacers. When air flows in the spaces between the disks, the spacers are arranged in such a way as to provide inward momentum to the air, causing the disks to move. The disks are connected to a shaft by spokes, so that the rotating disks cause the shaft to rotate as well. As explained in the patent held by Howard Fuller, the turbine design “provides maximum efficiency in converting wind energy to mechanical power.”  -  by Lisa Zyga

Wind Farm Brings Employment to Texas

The Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center, spread across a vast area of West Texas, was the largest in the world when it was completed in 2006. Through three stages of development it reached a total installed capacity of 735 Megawatts (MW), with 421 individual wind turbines. On average, it can supply enough electricity for 180,000 Texan homes. The wind farm has helped boost employment in West Texas, which was in economic decline until the wind industry arrived. In Nolan County, where many of the Horse Hollow turbines are located, the oil wells began to dry up in the 1990s. By 2004, 20% of the population was living in poverty, according to the US Census Bureau.

Horse Hollow Wind Farm in Texas Is 735 MW

The Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center, spread across a vast area of West Texas, is the largest in the world. Through three stages of development it has reached a total installed capacity of 735 Megawatts (MW), with 421 individual wind turbines. On average, it can supply enough electricity for 180,000 Texan homes. The wind farm has helped boost employment in West Texas, which was in economic decline until the wind industry arrived. In Nolan County, where many of the Horse Hollow turbines are located, the oil wells began to dry up in the 1990s. By 2004, 20% of the population was living in poverty, according to the US Census Bureau.

Tethered Sails Power Cargo Ships with Wind

It’s an idea that has been tested: a giant sail is attached to a heavy cargo ship, or smaller boat, to capture wind power, thereby reducing fossil fuel consumption, costs and pollution. One company, SkySails, reports that its kite sail will help reduce annual fuel costs by ten to 35 percent, with fewer harmful carbon emissions. The large towing kite resembles a paraglider and is shaped like an aircraft wing to enable it to take advantage of different wind directions. It operates at 100-300m above surface level - much higher than a normal sailing craft - where winds are stronger and more stable. The kite can be used in winds of 12-74km/h (7-40 knots) and not just when the wind is blowing directly from behind the ship. At SOLARIPEDIA.com, we look at two different kite systems from two companies, SkySails and KiteShip. Read more and see pix