Kite powered generator

Here is a unique wind-harnessing device to generate electricity.

Kites, as we all know from our kite flying days, can catch a lot of wind. The traditional propeller slices through the wind and is therefore not as efficient at using the wind to generate power. The kite ‘string’, actually metal poles, pumps arms extending from an alternator that creates electricity. Cables attached between the metal poles and the alternators arms allow the kites to adjust height and angle for maximum wind resistance.

The concept is similar to wave power units that uses ocean currents to ‘pump’ an electricity generating alternator.

This idea, in conjunction with solar power, is a very viable method of generating electrical power.

For more information see webite.

Solar power advertising signs

Personally, I think lighting up advertising signs is a colossal waste of electricity. The amount of power these signs collectively use is astounding. We need to solarize these power hogs to get them off of our power grid.

The costs to power these signs, of course, gets passed onto the consumer, so it would be nice not to have this expense come out of our pockets. Plus, the savings in pollution generated in created the extra power to run these signs would be astounding as well.

Electricity should be generated for our safety and personal use, i.e., traffic lights, street lights, home lighting, etc.

I have always thought advertising to be an eyesore and distraction on our roadways and with the amount of advertising we get on television, radio, all manner of public areas, and in the mail, why do we have to be subjected to this onslaught on our roadways too?

I briefly mentioned in a previous post the rolling blackouts this country is subjected to, if the power companies did not have to provide electricity for this type of superfluous advertising activity, we could stand a better chance of having those blackouts become a thing of the past. Plus, if these signs are on solar power then they would provide some light during those blackouts.

With the art of attracting people to shopping malls and individual businesses using solar power we could all benefit from the savings in more ways than one.

A company based in Spain called Grayhatch, has come up with an innovative and eco friendly creation that takes on the power hungry advertising market. Their inventors have devised a low-energy “bio-luminescent material” that is powered by solar panels. These panels allow for the replacement of wasteful light-bulbs in the advertising panels above the bench, which also gives customers a pretty comfy spot to sit. The benches are made of recycled plastic bags that, Grayhatch claims, leaves a zero carbon footprint and could each save 200 tons of pollution from entering into the atmosphere every year.


As a side note, in the future, these benches could provide a recharging kiosk for personal electronic devices such as cell phones, iPods, etc. Just an idea.

Currently, there is an order for 3,000 of these benches to be installed in the UK and other countries.

Utility company wants to come into our homes without permission.

California Energy Commission has proposed procedures under which they could actually reach into our homes and control the thermostat settings during times of energy stress. Their idea is to prevent the rolling blackouts that plague the countryside during periods of electricity shortages, such as during heat waves when people turn their air conditioners up even higher putting a larger load on the utility company’s already taxed electricity generating equipment.

The concept, at first glance, is allowing big brother into our homes without our permission. And this freaks out a lot of civil libertarians. The really ‘out-there’ types would be convinced there is a listening device or camera in the thermostat that authorities could use to spy on us.

In fact, radio talk shows have been flooded with indignant callers claims of violating the ‘man’s home is his castle’ dictum.

Disregarding the paranoia that this scenario brings about, the California Energy Commission, which for more than three decades has set state energy efficiency standards for home appliances, like water heaters, air conditioners and refrigerators, proposed that utilities can adjust customers’ preset temperatures though the use of radio-controlled thermostats when the price of electricity is soaring. Customers could override the utilities’ suggested temperatures, but in emergencies, the utilities could override customers’ wishes.

They are attempting to control electrical demand at the source. This is something I can see as necessary because there is no way customers will cut back voluntarily. It just has never happened and we all pay for it by doing without power for however long it takes to get the power back on. So, on the one hand, it is a very worthwhile endeavor aimed at keeping power flowing for all of us all of the time. On the other hand, we are giving up some control over our comfort zone.

Personally, I think this is a small price to pay to ensure traffic lights remain working, hospitals maintain constant power, and 911 systems are not interrupted.

These people who are thinking only of their own paranoiac fears need to lighten up and think about the big picture and realize that this could just save themselves trouble and inconvenience.

Wave-power gets a boost

Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to buy electricity generated from wave-power farm, Finavera Renewables.

The project hasn’t been approved by the U.S. government yet but finding someone who is willing to buy from the farm is a major step toward making it a reality.

The wave-power farm, scheduled for completion by 2012, will generate electricity from eight specially equipped buoys located off the coast of Northern California and will collectively generate up to two megawatts of power. If all goes as planned and the project is granted the necessary approvals, it could be expanded to produce up to 100 megawatts.

A full-scale buoy from Finavera will be capable of generating 250 kilowatts, enough for 80 homes. The 2-megawatt field will consist of eight devices. The planned 100-megawatt array could be squeezed into a few square miles on the sea.

Another experimental wave generator plant in operation is Pelamis Wave Power operating out of Portugal and Scotland. Pelamis has developed a method of offshore wave energy collection, using a floating tube called "Pelamis". This long, hinged tube (about the size of 5 railway cars) bobs up and down in the waves on hinges that pumps hydraulic fluid which drives generators.

Sea water is more than 800 times denser than air at sea level, which means wave farms or tidal turbines can produce quite a bit of power with only a little equipment and real estate.

Ten years from now, the U.S. could produce 10 gigawatts of wave power and 3 gigawatts of tidal power, said Roger Bedard, ocean energy program leader for the Electric Power Research Institute and an admitted optimist on the subject. That's enough for 4.3 million homes (assuming 3 kilowatts a home).

Wave energy is transferred to electricity by generators placed on the surface of the ocean in the shape of buoys or tubes. Energy output is determined by wave height, wave speed, wavelength, and water density.

Advantages of wave energy is that there is no fuel needed and no waste produced therefore it is energy free. It is not expensive to operate, and can produce a great deal of energy.

Disadvantages are that it depends on waves, sometimes you get a lot of energy other times none. It needs a suitable site where waves are consistently strong and it must be able to withstand very rough weather.

It won’t answer all of the worlds energy needs but this technology is on the cutting edge of being an important part of the patchwork of energy sources the U.S. will need to power our homes and businesses while addressing the ever looming climate change.