Tag: local
Great Lakes Commission tackles water levels, dredging backlog, Waukesha diversion and oil transportation
Milwaukee, Wis. – The Annual Meeting of the Great Lakes Commission, which concluded yesterday in Milwaukee, featured spirited dialogue on water levels, the growing dredging backlog on the Great Lakes, which is impeding commercial and recreational navigation, and an action item to tackle the potential benefits and risks of oil … Read More »
Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines: The Future of Micro Wind? [w/video]
![Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines: The Future of Micro Wind? [w/video]](https://i0.wp.com/cleantechnica.com/files/2008/06/dscn0012-300x278.jpg?ssl=1 "Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines: The Future of Micro Wind? [w/video]")
![Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines: The Future of Micro Wind? [w/video]](http://cleantechnica.com/files/2008/06/dscn0012.jpg "Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines: The Future of Micro Wind? [w/video]")
Walking the floor of WINDPOWER 2008, the annual conference and trade show for the wind energy industry, one couldn’t help but be transfixed by all of the different types of turbines – at least I couldn’t. The wind turbine has become the iconic symbol of clean, renewable energy. But the classic three-bladed turbine horizontal axis wind turbine, with its gracefully swooping blades, has become the symbol of not only renewable energy, but also of environmental consciousness and ecological possibility.
Despite the ubiquity of the three-bladed turbine, the oft-overlooked vertical-axes turbines are making quite a splash in the world of wind energy, especially in small and micro-applications. So what’s all the fuss about? Vertical-axis turbines apparently do not suffer from some of the same problems that plague small wind applications in urban settings including, aesthetic concerns, space requirements and sound levels.
Other advantages of vertical-axis turbines:
- Can produce up to 50% more electricity per year than conventional turbines with the same swept area
- Generate electricity at much lower wind speeds, as low as 4 mph (1.5 m/s)
- Will continue to generate power in high wind speeds, up to 130 mph (60m/s) depending on the mode
- Direct-drive units have no gearbox. No gearbox means a more efficient transfer of energy and no leaking oil
- Will not harm wildlife, in terms of bird and bat strikes
Below, I’ll cover some more basic differences and show you a few photos and short videos of some of these turbines I saw down in Houston at WINDPOWER 2008.
The designers from Taiwanese start-up A.N.I.T.A. Energy (pictured above and in video below) showed me why their models have a low start-up wind speed, and that is because of the light metal bands you can see surrounding the turbine itself. Apparently this design allows users with a less substantial wind resource (particularly those in urban applications), squeeze some electricity from the local winds. The larger model pictured above is scalable and can be stacked as many as three-high and integrated with the rooftops of large buildings.
Another design I saw scattered throughout the show floor were those that integrated small solar and wind together on the same unit (top photo and photo below). The unit below integrates both solar and wind onto a single 400W streetlight platform.
The turbine itself is a “GUS” from a company called Tangarie which features a reflective coating that reduces glare and can even be slathered with an advertisement or a state flag of Texas, as is the one below. The complete solar/wind/streetlight/pole package (made by another company altogether) costs about $7,000, not including installation.
There will undoubtedly be substantial growth in the vertical-axis turbines, especially in urban settings. Personally, I think this technology could best be applied in poorer countries to help address the most basic of energy needs, like lighting and light-duty water pumping.
Other Posts on Small and Micro Wind Energy:
“Top Five Micro Wind Turbines”
“Liveblogging from WINDPOWER 2008: Photos of Small Wind Turbines”
“Small Wind Remains in Farm Bill”
*Thanks again to the American Wind Energy Association for providing travel and conference support to WINDPOWER 2008.
Atlantic City Convention Center Plans Largest Solar Roof in U.S.
Giving a new meaning to the term “sun roof”, Atlantic City’s Convention Center will install solar photovoltaic (PV) modules on 290,000 square feet of roof space, saving a projected $4.4 million over 20 years, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger. In a groundbreaking economic arrangement, Pepco Energy Services, a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, will pay to have the solar panels installed, and the Convention Center will then buy back the electricity from Pepco. The installation will provide a quarter of the energy consumed by the convention center. The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) says the installation will be the largest in the U.S. on one roof.
“Jeffrey Vasser, executive director of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority, said the group began planning a solar project a few years ago when Gov. Jon S. Corzine pushed for greater use of sun and wind power in New Jersey.
‘We have a great building to do this on, and we wanted to be the first kid on the block to get in on it,’ Vasser said. This helps a young industry grow into a mature one, helps reduce our dependence on oil, and produces electricity that does not increase carbon emissions into the air,’ he said of the multi million-dollar project.”
State Governors, take note what a little forward-thinking leadership can accomplish. And think about the vast acreage across the U.S. devoted to industrial-size roofs that could be deployed to save businesses millions of dollars on energy while lessening our dependence on foreign oil. Oh yeah, and helping the environment.
Image Credit: Solar Service, Inc.
Related Posts:
A Clean Future equals a Cheaper Future
It comes as no surprise to me to see time and time again examples of human stupidity. I’m not the sunniest of people on my best day, and when all around me the world is going to hell in a handbasket for a veritable multitude of reasons, one can only get depressed, or rise above it and become as arrogant as me.
This most recent spate of reviling the human race was sparked by an opinion piece by Elizabeth R. Sawin from the Sustainability Institute. Her title was enough to make me smile: “$4.00 per Gallon Gasoline and Climate Change Both Call for the Same Solution: Collective Investment in Clean Energy.” I smiled again when she opened with a question she was recently asked: “What do you have to say about global warming to the whole segment of Americans who are just waking up to energy issues with $4.00 per gallon gasoline?”
Needless to say, my revulsion of the human species, or at least a vast majority of them (I have a variety of revulsions, this one is environmentally based), seem to have only just realized that maybe, just maybe, it might be a good idea to have a look for something other than fossil fuels to power our transportation.
And the terms “climate change” or “global warming” do not even register.
I must admit to a certain measure of childish glee, when I see petrol prices rising as they are. You see, I do not drive a car, and at 24, I have no real desire to drive one either. No doubt by the end of 2008 my peer group will have bullied me in to getting my license, but apart from the sporadic 3am drive to the supermarket for a chicken, my feet and my bike are all I need (and maybe the occasional bus/train ticket).
So at a time when petrol prices are skyrocketing and the US Senate defeating the Climate Security Act, people are suitably concerned. But as I mentioned, it isn’t because of any fear of melting ice-caps or drowning polar bears – although I like to think that many at least feel they should care about such things, even if they don’t actively do so.
Now Sawin quickly antagonizes a great magnitude of people out there by using the term “scientific consensus” to describe what is happening to our environment; it’s never a good move. But I don’t even want to discuss that. The point I want to make is this: how come with fuel prices getting higher than Willie Nelson, people don’t want a cheaper alternative?
It would seem to me that, even though you may be 100% against the idea that man has decided to pollute Earth in to oblivion (guess where I stand), surely you would like to be paying a little less to get to work in the morning? (Another gleeful admission: I work from home!) Wouldn’t you like to pay a little less to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer? (I got nothing for those two! I’m sufferin’ like the rest of you!)
So if there ever comes a time where there is a vote to be cast, calls to be made and politicians to be swayed, make sure you do your part: vote to bring in alternative energies, call your local whatever and let him know! Because even if you don’t feel the environment needs the helping hand, I can sure bet that your hip-pocket wouldn’t mind one.
Seven Ways to Save Energy by Saving Water
Though many states and localities are waking up to their water shortages and taking steps to plan for “peak water”, people generally continue to waste water and to ignore the energy-water link. In 2004 the Natural Resources Defense Council did a study in conjunction with the Pacific Institute called “Energy Down the Drain” on how saving water saves energy. We need to do more to spread the word. Here are seven ways to save energy by saving water:
1. Use local water.
Transporting water uses energy, so rainwater harvesting is a serious water-and-energy saver. According to the NRDC/Pacific Institute study “California’s State Water Project (SWP), which transports water from Northern California to Southern California is the state’s largest single energy user, consuming 2 to 3 percent of all electricity. It takes tremendous amounts of energy to pump the water 2,000 feet over the Tehachapi Mountains — the highest water lift of any water system in the world
2. Use less heated water in homes and businesses.
Heating water uses a great deal of energy. Small things magnified a million times over — like washing clothes with cold water or taking shorter showers — saves large amounts of energy.
3. Use energy-saving appliances.
Energy Star appliances will decrease water and energy use.
4. Learn from Australia.
Why reinvent the wheel? Since 2006, when the BBC reported Australia’s biggest drought in 1,000 years, the situation has not improved. In an island nation, this has a tendency to focus the mind, and water-and energy-saving inventions have been pouring forth from that country, while the government introduces policies that save energy and water almost daily.
5. Rethink your bathroom.
Toto, an innovative company from Japan (another island nation concerned about water use) offers an EcoPower hands-free faucet that recharges itself each time it is used.
6. Rip out that lawn and replace it with a rain garden.
Watering grass, fertilizing it with petroleum-based fertilizers, and mowing it with a gas or electric mower…..need I say more?
7. Eat more vegetables and grains; cut down on the beef.
Animal farming takes more energy and water. “Beef production requires large volumes of water–as much as 100 times that required to produce equivalent amounts of protein energy from grains.” (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2002 And the cows are fed from corn that is farmed using energy-hogging fertilizers, insecticides, and fossil fuels.
If you think about it, it’s impossible to separate our energy use from our water use. If we can start thinking holistically about the systems we use in our daily lives — and get our governments to create policies that promote wise use of energy and water, we’ll be more ready for the limits to resources that are only going to increase.
Posts Related to Saving Energy and Water:
All You Need to Know About Water Saving Technology Around the House
Could Wind help Save Water?
Low-Energy Water Desalination From Seawater Greenhouse
Water Crisis: Clean Tech to the Rescue?