Wind Power Authority

The Plastiki is a unique sailing vessel, you've probably never seen anything quite like it, or maybe you have? Much like the Maltese Falcon in the way it uses recycled parts, the Plastiki is made completely from reclaimed plastic bottles and other recycled materials and is currently parked at San Francisco's Pier 45. I can bet you've seen a plastic bottle floating around in a lake or the ocean before? This is just a larger, more useful version that helps remind us that plastic can be recycled and reused, and that it doesn't just disappear when we're done drinking from...

Anyone with a sense of humor (and history) who is also interested in wind power should appreciate this recent sketch available at xkcd. If you've never seen xkcd before, consider spending a half hour flipping through the stories there. The founder, Randall Patrick Munroe, is from Somerville Massachusetts and is a programmer who recently worked for NASA. Random wind facts (to keep this story on topic):The US recently passed Germany to have the most wind power of any nation.Wind power is the leading renewable energy source (not counting hydro or geothermal) in the US today.In 2008 it is estimated that 48 billion kWh were...

Earlier today our friends over at Wind Power Handbook put out a comprehensive article on getting hired for wind power jobs. The article states that "The wind energy industry is the fastest growing segment of renewable energy production" and this very well may be true for the United States which has clusters of "clean tech" centers focusing on Solar, Biomass, and other technology but limited availability of clean jobs across across agricultural states.Wind however, blows everywhere so jobs and support positions are growing nation wide. As the image below suggests, even the most remote locations can harness wind and thus...

Under the new Obama administration alternative energy in the United States will become increasingly important, and invested in. Obama has outlined plans to increase US clean energy production from 3% (where it currently stands, minus hydroelectric) to 10% by 2012 and 25% by 2025. What this means is that more and more home owners, businesses, and electric companies are going to be incentivized to go green.Wind power is a big focus, and with huge tracts of land and mountains in Colorado, Wyoming, and California already utilizing massive wind turbines successfully this model will surely be expanded across the US. As...

I have an engineering consulting practice and live in a state that is in America's wind corridor (Colorado) so I sometimes have people who own rural land inquire about wind farm leases and whether their land might be suitable for the construction of some wind turbines. In order to be a desirable site for wind development, your land needs to be in close proximity to power lines with available capacity to transport the power to end customers. If not, it gets very expensive to build new distribution lines (about $500K per mile) and so wind developers tend to look for...

The Maltese Falcon, one of the world's largest privately owned sailing yachts, arrived in San Francisco Bay on September 27, 2008 to take part in October's Leukemia Cup Fundraiser, marking the first time the record-setting, award-winning clipper ship has sailed into US territory.The ship is enormous in every measurable dimension. At 289 feet in length, it falls only six feet short of the Athena, previously the clear record holder in private sailing yachts at 295 feet, and sixteen feet short of the Eos at 305 feet. However, both of its rivals have bowsprits extending their length by over 30 feet, while the...

If you've been reading my other posts you'll know that my father Kent Britain is using money from the shale oil on his land in Texas to invest in wind power. Additionally, as we have begun researching wind power options we have explored the construction and production of industrial sized wind turbines. I've tried to explain just how big these windmills can get but the pictures really don't do it justice. Quite a traffic jam results as they are traveling to the site each day. The trucks they travel on only run at 35-40 MPH, and there was quite a...

You may have wondered how the massive industrial grade wind turbines are created and shipped. In this article we'll explore the blades made at the Molded Fiber Glass Company in Texas. These blades are made of fiberglass and are shaped similar to an aircraft wing. They are then coated with epoxy to protect them from the elements and hold the form. The epoxy in the fiberglass has to have hardened for the blades to be able to be removed from their mandrels and painted, like those you see in these pictures. However, the epoxy is not fully cured and the...

When it comes to Industrial strength wind turbines pricing is usually set a complete system delivered. The price for a wind turbine like the ones shown below is 2.8 million dollars per system, including turbine, tower and blades. Each of the turbines is estimated to generate 1.3 megawatts. This is much larger than would be needed for a residential home. Eventually the price per unit is going to go down. In these days of wind farms, the contracts are for dozens if not hundreds per contract. Not a per blade price, but for several blades per turbine. Why you may...

Cars are becoming a primary focus in sustainable design and pollution prevention. According to WikiAnswers there were over 240 million cars registered in 2005 in the US alone and that number has continued to grow in subsequent years. While there have recently been developments in hybrid and electric cars (even solar powered cars) there has always been a fascination with adding wind power to cars.Somehow it seems feasible to attach a wind turbine to a car and generate electricity as the car drives. Wouldn't the inertia from the car's accelerated mass (which is enough to power through the air) also...