Certain technologies become unfeasible below a certain scale. Concentrated solar power is one. Yes, you can take a solar cooker on a backpacking trip, but you certainly can’t set up a CSP plant on the roof of your house that …
Category: Wind Energy
Victory for the Wind Energy Industry in Scotland, and What I Hope To Be My Last Comment on Donald Trump
I expect to make this the last public remark I’ll ever be forced to make about Donald Trump—and I mention it only because of its relevance to the world of renewable energy: Trump has lost his court battle in Scotland, …
Brian McGowan, the Ultimate Renewable Energy DIY Guy
I keep meaning to take an extra day during one of my excursions to the East Coast and hang out with Brian McGowan, hands-on renewable energy guy extraordinaire, who lives near Philadelphia. Pictured left is a wall of his garage; …
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From Digital Trends: NewWind’s Arbre à Vent Is a Wind Turbine Designed for Cities
A friend writes: Happy 4th of July! I was at a coffee shop yesterday, and they had all these European magazines. I came across an article: THIS ‘TREE’ GENERATES ENOUGH ELECTRICITY TO HEAT YOUR APARTMENT. I thought you’d enjoy …
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Concept in “Small Wind”
I’ve been having a discussion with an inventor of a product in the “small wind” energy space (i.e., anything under 100KW) whose website is linked above. He had asked my advice about his concept, which is summarized as follows: The …
Wind Energy Is Making a Huge Contribution
A conservative reader who has displayed a circumspect attitude towards renewable energy notes: Wind, Solar, Wave, Bio-fuels, Geo-thermal, and lots of other alternate energy technologies, are valid subjects for research. I urge him to keep in mind that wind is …
Poland: Installing Wind and Remembering Chopin
It’s highly unlikely that anyone anywhere will ever forget the great Frederic Chopin and the incredible music for the piano that he left us. It’s even less likely that anyone in Poland will ever forget him. I was in Warsaw …
Wind Energy Comes to Iowa—Corn Farming Not Impeded
Because I watch so little commercial television, I tend not to see advertisements—even the good ones, like this piece for Siemens and the success they’re having with wind energy in our (quite breezy) state of Iowa. Until now, Iowa was …
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Unfounded Attacks on Wind Energy
The folks who argue that wind energy is a bad thing have a very tough challenge, considering all the fossil fuels being replaced and all the jobs (50,000 in the U.S. in 2013) that the industry provides. Somehow, however, none …
Bladeless Wind Turbine
If we have any heavyweights in fluid dynamics out there who would like to comment on this concept, I would appreciate it. It’s a bladeless wind turbine, one that captures energy from the moving air by shaking rather than turning. …
