Innovative urban wind turbine hits close to home

This innovative wind turbine went up just days ago, only a few miles from my house.

A.L. Huber, a general contractor based in Overland Park, Ks., is demonstrating the feasibility of a new kind of wind turbine. The company's goal is to not only generate some power to run its business, but also to show potential customers how this sort of wingding can be applied in real life.

What's good about this wind turbine is that it can generate electricity at lower speeds than traditional wind turbines with blades. And it supposedly is less likely to kill birds. These two elements make it much more palatable in an urban environment.

The turbine is made by AES Wind. A.L. Huber partnered with KC-based architectural firm Burns & McDonnell to put up the turbine.

Here's a video of the installation.

Helping save bats from wind turbines

One of the negative aspects of generating electricity from wind is the unfortunate death of birds and bats.

A new study shows that turning off the blades during periods of low winds reduces bat deaths by 70 percent. It makes sense, because bats don't like to fly in heavy winds. At least around here, they like still nights.

The study, performed by Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative and the Pennsylvania Game Commission at Pennsylvania's Casselman wind farm, found that turbines that were not curtailed on low wind nights were as much as four times as likely to result in bat deaths.


Curtailing the turbines did not even result in a great loss of electricity generation. The full study (PDF) showed that if all 23 turbines had been shut down, it would have resulted in a 3 percent annual loss of electricity generation.


Of course, in a low-margin business like electricity generation, every percentage point counts. But it is important for renewable energy sources to show that they can be friendly to nature.

I would like to see a related study on how to reduce bird deaths from wind turbines.

Doughnuts for (wind) dollars

Wind turbines should be able to spin a little faster and a little longer if new research by Leviathan Energy plays out.

The company came up with a method to direct the winds around a wind turbine more efficiently into the path of the blades. A doughnut-shaped plastic and metal skirt is placed at the base of the turbine, directing windflow more efficiently.

Supposedly it will increase efficiency by 15-30 percent.

We're just at the beginning stages of real advances in wind power. I can't wait until the price comes down -- and the technology improves -- to the point where I can cost-effectively add one to my home.

Another city of the future being planned

In the unlikely nation of Azerbaijan, a radical eco-city may be about to take wing.

An island named Zira will become a 1 million square-meter tourist resort and residential area with zero carbon footprint, according to this Fast Company article.

Zira, in the Caspian Sea, will receive its makeover from Dutch architects Bjarke Ingels Group. Buildings and architecture will resemble the Seven Peaks of Azerbaijan. View a slideshow of the project details here.

Solar and other sustainable energy features will be integrated throughout the structures, and off-shore wind turbines will provide a big chunk of electricity too.



The eco city will feature beaches, a hanging garden, golf course and promenade.

Here's a view of the cityscape.



Here's a representation of the city's resemblence to the seven peaks.

Wind turbine design from Down Under

From Australia comes a wind turbine electrical generator that is cheap and easy to install.

Designed to be placed at a home's roof peak, where wind speed is greatest, it supposedly could be sold for as little as 700 Australian dollars, or about $450 U.S.

The disadvantage to this kind of wind turbine is it has to be situated in the direction of the wind to gain maximum efficiency. For many East/West facing houses (at least in the Midwest) that is not a problem, because of prevailing wind patterns. If my house was facing South, it would generate less power.

Here's the video:

Trouble in the wind

Along with some of the titans of American industry, now the nation's largest wind turbine manufacturer is laying off 20% of its workforce at three plants.

D.M.I. Industries is powering back at plants in Tulsa, Okla., Fargo, N.D., and Stevensville, Ontario, according to this post at Green Inc., a New York Times blog.

It's not looking good for other manufacturers either, according to the blog:

L.M. Glasfiber, a Danish turbine company, also announced 150 layoffs last week at a blade-making plant in Arkansas. And Gamesa, a Spanish turbine maker, said it was initiating layoffs at an Eastern Pennsylvania factory — though it was expanding a factory in the western part of the state, which can make larger blades.

The troubles of turbine manufacturers are mirrored in the solar industry, which has also suffered manufacturing layoffs recently.

This is troubling for the small towns that had seen these factories as a beacon of hope for the future. Like many other manufacturing woes, this has its genesis in the banking fiasco.

The wind business, which requires an enormous amount of capital investment, has been hit especially hard by troubles in the banking sector. Experts say that the number of big banks willing to invest in projects through the production tax credit has fallen sharply. Many wind-farm developers, from NextEra (formerly F.P.L. Energy) to the Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, are cutting back on plans to expand their farms.

The wind industry hopes that the incoming administration and Congress will change the tax structure to make the production tax credit refundable, which would allow more companies to invest in it.

Thanks to Alexis Madrigal of Wired.com for passing along the news in his tweet.

Obama's infrastructure spending must go beyond roads and bridges

This article at the New Republic's Web site is one that I agree with.

The basic premise is that we need more than road and bridge infrastructure improvements to pull us out of economic malaise. We need to take a leap forward in how we view transportation. This includes possibly retooling auto plants to make high-speed trains.

I would take it a step further, and say that auto and other manufacturing plants need to be put at work producing wind turbines, solar panels and the like. We should produce more (energy efficient) goods so we can consume less energy.

Reducing our reliance on despotic oil regimes will make us free from war and the tyranny of Jihad-style terrorism.

Apartment building wind turbines to provide half of light in common areas

This story from NYTimes tells of a Bronx apartment building that will use 10 one-kilowatt wind turbines on its roof to allay power for lighting in common areas like the lobby, hallway, elevator, etc.

According to the article, "The turbines, which collectively cost $100,000, could halve the annual utility bill for the common spaces, to $9,000 from $18,000."

That's a noble idea, but the arrangement of the turbines leaves something to be desired. They are all pointing in the same direction. If the wind is not blowing in that direction, their utility is reduced.

Anyone considering adding this kind of wind-powered feature to their business or residence should consider an omnidirectional turbine.

Pfister Energy offers one.

So does Helix Wind.

Omnidirectional turbines turn no matter which direction the wind is coming from, and they require less breeze than giant propeller based versions.

Additionally, wildlife typically recognize omnidirectional turbines as solid objects, and they're less likely to get tangled up in them.

America - the world's wind leader

Great news! The United States is now the leading producer of power from wind.

According to this article on Cleantechnica, America has surpassed Germany in this regard. The U.S. now produces enough wind power to offset the burning of 91 million barrels of oil a year.

U.S. wind power produces more than 21,000 megawatts annually, or enough to power about 5.5 million households.

Read more good news on wind power from the American Wind Energy Association.

"Whoo-hoo for wind," you say, "But how can I get in on the game?"

Well, you don't have to own acres of prairie to harness the wind, as this video shows.