wind turbines

GE’s Wind Turbine Tester Puts Gigantic Drivetrains Through Hell

Modern multi-megawatt wind turbines are downright gargantuan, standing more than 700 feet tall with 260-foot blades spinning 190 mph at the tip. To make sure that these monolithic machines are up for 20 years of energy production, GE has created a tortuous test bed capable of sucking 20 years of life from a turbine in…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Apr 3

Hypnotic Flapping Wing Turbines Keep Working in the Gentlest Breeze

There have been many proposed alternatives to the spinning propeller blades used on wind turbines installed all over the county, but none as unorthodox as Festo’s new DualWingGenerator. Inspired by the company’s work on winged flying robots, the design keeps working when winds are as slow as nine miles per hour. https://gizmodo.com/this-delightful-dragonfly-drone-swims-swiftly-through-t-5992899 So how on…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 1

Massive offshore turbine arrays would help us harness hurricanes

What would happen if a hurricane were to plough through a wind farm consisting of tens of thousands of individual turbines? A Stanford engineer recently ran a computer simulation to find out — and the results were astonishing. Given the often devastating impacts of climate change, the need for effective weather control systems has never…

io9 George Dvorsky Feb 27

Watch These Wind Turbines Shoot Incredible Lightning Into a Storm

We all know wind turbines can produce electricity, but have you seen them produce lightning? When scientists trained high-speed cameras on a wind farm in Spain, they captured lightning bolts shooting out of the wind turbines. Tall structures like towers can initiate ground-to-cloud lightning, but ever-spinning wind turbines present a unique challenge. Under certain cloud…

Tech News Sarah Zhang Jan 16

Strap This Wind Turbine To Your Electric Car To Stay Juiced in Park

Electricity-generating windmills churn out free energy as long as the wind is blowing. So strapping one to the roof of your car where there’s always a breeze as long as you’re driving just seems obvious. The Transport Turbine—seen here as a 3D printed proof of concept—puts four small wind turbines on the roof of your…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski Jan 8

A Dragonfly-Inspired Wind Turbine That’s Designed For Your Backyard

As wind energy has expanded over the years, engineers have raced to build larger and larger turbines—designed to take advantage of as much wind as possible. But the architect Renzo Piano and an energy company in Italy are trying to make a smaller turbine—one that’s suitable for the average yard. First of all: Why smaller?…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan Oct 24

Colbert Tackles the Very Real Dangers of Wind Turbine Herpes

One of the things you can expect from another four years of the Obama administration: wind turbines. Lots and lots of wind turbines. And with them as Stephen Colbert reports, come a slew of illnesses. Or at least, accusations of such: https://gizmodo.com/what-obamas-victory-means-for-tech-5958429 The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video…

Tech News Brian Barrett Nov 8

Study: There is enough wind on this planet to meet our entire energy needs

A recent study from the Carnegie Institution for Science is suggesting that planetary winds pack enough power to energize our entire civilization — and by a significant margin. But in order for us to capture all this energy, say the researchers, we’ll have to supplement traditional ground-based stations with atmospheric wind turbines. The study, which…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 10

Dual-Action Wind Turbine Generates Power and Water

Throughout the developing world, millions of people struggle with a shortage of clean water and steady electricity. This wind turbine could solve both problems in one shot by pulling both power and water straight from the wind. The WMS1000 Wind Turbine was invented by Marc Parent and is built by the French start-up Eole Water.…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Apr 17

High-Flying Turbine Blimps Could Cut Wind Electricity Costs By 65 Percent

Wind blows stronger and more consistently as you rise above ground obstacles like buildings, trees, and hills. This makes for a lucrative green energy source—assuming you can lift generators 1000 feet in the air. This Airborne Wind Turbine could well become the first. Altaeros Energies is currently developing the Airborne Wind Turbine (AWT). It consists…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Apr 4

World’s Most Powerful Offshore Turbine Catches Wind Gusts Two Soccer Fields Wide

While it may not be the overall most-powerful wind turbine ever built, the multi-megawatt monstrosity that has just been installed off the coast of Belgium is certainly the most powerful to ever be caressed by a sea breeze. https://gizmodo.com/650-feet-of-wind-catching-fury-5813896 The turbine, with a rated capacity of 6.15 megawatts, is part of a 48-turbine expansion at…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Mar 23

Fish Are Unexpectedly Helping to Make Wind Farms More Powerful

Wind turbines are big on power and marvels to look at. They’re also rather inefficient. So some scientists thought about it, talked, and figured out a way to increase their power output tenfold. All by staring at fish! John Dabiri, professor of aeronautics and bioengineering at Caltech, and his colleagues set out to test the…

Tech News Kwame Opam Jul 18

Google Wants a Massive Wind Farm Stretching Down the East Coast

For some reason, lots of people hate wind farms—I think they’re rather pretty!—but NIMBY is a powerful, powerful force. So why not stick ’em far in the breezy sea? Trans-Elect wants to do just that, with Google cash. The Atlantic Wind Connection is a proposed network of hundreds of at-sea wind farms stretching from New…

Tech News Sam Biddle Apr 28

Playing Chicken With Wind Turbines

What’s the point of owning an RC airplane if you’re not going to do something totally irresponsible with it? Like, say, playing chicken with a few wind turbines, coming so close that you clip your antenna in the process. [Litter Box via Neatorama]

Tech News Brian Barrett Feb 21

Every Day is a Fairground Ride for Wind Turbine Engineers

As you stagger into work and slump over your desktop like one of last night’s zombies, engineer Ross Kennedy is having an exhilarating ride atop a 100m-high wind turbine with the best views of Scotland. I’m not jealous…much. [Daily Mail]

Tech News Kat Hannaford Nov 1

Life Isn’t Always So Rosy for Green Towns

Initially, they applauded the erection of three wind turbines. Now, the inhabitants of Penobscot Bay, Maine, rue the day the $15m wind facility was built a mile from their homes, due to the sheer noise the 123-foot blades make. The NY Times has looked into the concerns of people from locations such as Penobscot Bay…

Tech News Kat Hannaford Oct 6

The Inconvenient Truth Of Wind Turbine Radar Blackout Zones

The supposedly world-saving wind turbine has been singled out as a potential danger by the military, as the rise of wind farms threatens national security—by creating radar “blackout zones”. Spinning turbines are “indistinguishable” from airplanes on radar systems, according to the NYT, which is reporting a growing rift between those who want renewable energy sources…

Tech News Gary Cutlack Aug 27

Eco-friendly super-tower, “The Electric Razor,” is named ugliest new building in England

Some of the most beautiful buildings in the world are designed to be both sleek and eco-friendly. And then there’s the Strata Tower, which improves urban density and has three wind turbines. And it’s been named Britain’s ugliest new building. The Strata Tower won that questionable honor in an annual competition held by Building Design…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Aug 13

What Would a Green London Look Like?

You can pretty much insert your local area’s landmarks in the following amazing images from photographer Andy Spain, because it’s an issue that obviously affects us all. Spain’s Ecocities series of images include either stock photos of London landmarks, or shots he’s taken himself, but all have been adapted somehow to give a view of…

Tech News Kat Hannaford Aug 6

The Strata Building Runs On Built-In Wind Power

Form, meet function. The 42-story Strata Building—also known by its much cooler nickname, “The Razor“—will get 8% of its energy from three wind turbines built into its façade. Hope no one builds a 43-story building next door. Fortunately, the Strata looms over its current neighbors with enough clearance to take full advantage of the 35mph…

Tech News Brian Barrett Mar 15

GE’s Wind Turbine Tester Puts Gigantic Drivetrains Through Hell

Hypnotic Flapping Wing Turbines Keep Working in the Gentlest Breeze

Massive offshore turbine arrays would help us harness hurricanes

Watch These Wind Turbines Shoot Incredible Lightning Into a Storm

Strap This Wind Turbine To Your Electric Car To Stay Juiced in Park

A Dragonfly-Inspired Wind Turbine That’s Designed For Your Backyard

Colbert Tackles the Very Real Dangers of Wind Turbine Herpes

Study: There is enough wind on this planet to meet our entire energy needs

Dual-Action Wind Turbine Generates Power and Water

High-Flying Turbine Blimps Could Cut Wind Electricity Costs By 65 Percent

World’s Most Powerful Offshore Turbine Catches Wind Gusts Two Soccer Fields Wide

Fish Are Unexpectedly Helping to Make Wind Farms More Powerful

Google Wants a Massive Wind Farm Stretching Down the East Coast

Playing Chicken With Wind Turbines

Every Day is a Fairground Ride for Wind Turbine Engineers

Life Isn’t Always So Rosy for Green Towns

The Inconvenient Truth Of Wind Turbine Radar Blackout Zones

Eco-friendly super-tower, “The Electric Razor,” is named ugliest new building in England

What Would a Green London Look Like?

The Strata Building Runs On Built-In Wind Power

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