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Posts tagged power
It’s Flying, with Style
Sep 15th
Efforts are underway to harness the wind in the upper layers of the atmosphere, which could contain as much as 870 terawatts of power — that’s 870 trillion watts! Being able to harness this energy has one significant advantage: it would take less raw material per watt of power, translating to a lower cost per watt.
One design, from Joby Energy, hopes to launch a 500-kilowatt winged turbine next year,. The company claims to be able to use just 20 tons of material per megawatt, compared to the conventional wind power industry average of 96 tons. In order to keep such a turbine from floating off into space, Joby plans to attach tether propellers with a cord. Makani Power’s idea is an airborne wind turbine, which launches when wind speeds reach 3.5 m/s. The turbine does not have any fuel or batteries and fliest crosswind in a circular pattern in order to generate power.
One design, from Joby Energy, hopes to launch a 500-kilowatt winged turbine next year,. The company claims to be able to use just 20 tons of material per megawatt, compared to the conventional wind power industry average of 96 tons. In order to keep such a turbine from floating off into space, Joby plans to attach tether propellers with a cord. Makani Power’s idea is an airborne wind turbine, which launches when wind speeds reach 3.5 m/s. The turbine does not have any fuel or batteries and fliest crosswind in a circular pattern in order to generate power.
Sustainability: Dept Of Energy Builds A Net Zero Energy Building
Jul 7th
If you thought the Chinese were the only ones constructing sustainable buildings, the Dept. Of Energy has some surprise in store for you. The Research Support Building of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been hard at work constructing a net zero energy consumption building right here in the US. What this means is that the building can stay off the power grid entirely. The building runs completely on renewable energy. Image of the building after the break.
Lockheed Martin Working On OTEC Technology. Promises Unlimited Clean Energy.
Jun 27th
We talk about a lot of green tech and clean tech here at Ideabing but this one takes the cake. Lockheed Martin is working on something called the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion or OTEC that promises energy production with zero carbon output. Yup, its a power plant on the ocean but with absolutely no carbon footprint. How it works is a little complex though. The technology utilizes the subtle temperature differences between the shallow and deep regions of ocean water to harvest that energy and convert it to electricity. The good news? The energy can be harvested in all the ocean water on this planet! Unlimited energy potential with zero carbon output. Yes, the humans have finally found kryptonite! Lockheed Martin’s going to build the first power plant in Hawaii by 2012, a 10 Mega Watt one. Subsequent ones will have 100 Mega Watt capacity. This changes the game quite drastically in the energy sector. Imagine – no fossil fuels required to generate electricity! Welcome to the OTEC economy. Video demonstrating the technology after the break.
Silicon nanoparticles will power next-generation batteries
May 8th
They say there is a thin line between love and hate, a statement with which many electronic consumers would agree when they are holding their beloved iPhones, unable to use it because the batteries need charging. Soon enough consumers could be using electronics powered by next-generation batteries with far longer lives. Researchers in the laboratory
MIT Working On More Efficient Wireless Power Delivery
Apr 20th
In 2007, MIT researchers announced that they had discovered a novel way of transmitting electricity without the use of wires. Now, the researchers have demonstrated that the system’s efficiency at transmitting energy improves significantly when it is used to charge multiple devices at the same time.
Disruptive Innovation: GE’s Next Generation 4MW Windmill
Mar 29th
An interesting article is out on PopSci – a break up view of GE’s brand new next gen windmill. The new windmill generates a massive 4 MW of electricity! This beats GE’s best wind turbine with a rating of 2.5 MW. Although this energy output is about 75% of Enercon’s E126, which sports a 6MW rating, the GE windmill will be unique in its own right.
