Wind Power

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Renewable energy comes out of an electricity socket, but to get there it has to travel a long journey – from wind turbines out at sea or regional solar, wind, and biogas power plants. On the way to the consumer much energy is lost, but new electronic components will change things in future.
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Starting in 2011, energy suppliers in Germany will be required to offer electricity at variable rates under the German Energy Act. A new energy management software platform will enable customers to opt for flexible electricity rates, so that they can purchase power at times when it is available more cheaply. Another advantage is better utilization of the power grid.
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In just the last few years, innovation in alternative-energy technologies have gained significant footholds in product development lifecycles and are rapidly changing our individual roles as energy consumers and producers. Out of the box thinking and breakthrough discoveries are on the rise in solar, wind, biofuel, and other alternative-energy technologies. 
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As the demand for greener appliances and consumer products soars across the globe, and energy savings becomes a global phenomenon (and necessity) in residential and commercial environments, solar and wind power technologies have begun to proliferate in cities and states around the world.
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The latest e-zine from Green Design & Manufacturing is here! The premiere issue of Solar and Wind Power features articles, tech briefs, application stories, and more regarding alternative energy solutions.
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Most wind farms consist of horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs), but an alternative paradigm for wind energy extraction is found in vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) designs. A single spatially-isolated VAWT has a significantly lower power coefficient.
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The 2010 Sandia National Laboratories Wind Turbine Blade Workshop will be held at the Embassy Suites in Albuquerque, NM. Topics will include materials, manufacturing, design/analysis codes, and testing.

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To lower the fuel consumption of airplanes and ships, it is necessary to reduce their flow resistance, or drag. A paint system from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research IFAM makes this possible. Along with lowering costs, it also reduces CO2 emissions.
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Today, Bloom Energy Corporation (Sunnyvale, CA) announced the availability of the Bloom Energy Server™, a patented solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology that provides clean, affordable, and continuous onsite electricity from renewable or traditional fuel sources.
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Engineering researchers from the University of Leeds have discovered how to recover significant quantities of rare-earth oxides, present in titanium dioxide minerals. Rare-earth oxides are useful in many applications, such as the manufacture of wind turbines, energy-efficient lighting, and hybrid and electric cars.
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The OPB732 Series long distance infrared reflective switch from TT electronics OPTEK Technology (Carrollton, TX) has been employed in a 6kW wind turbine for RPM sensing. Placed at the turbine rotor, the switch is used internally to sense RPMs, and that data is then transmitted to a customer-accessible Web site via GPRS.
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Aerospace engineers from the U.S. Air Force Academy are applying the principles that keep airplanes aloft to create a new wave energy system that is durable, efficient, and can be placed anywhere in the ocean - regardless of depth. While still in early design stages, computer and scale-model tests of the system suggest higher efficiencies than wind turbines.
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The EPA has awarded 43 grants to teams of university students who will design technologies addressing sustainability challenges in the developed and developing world. The People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) competition asks students to design and build technologies that improve quality of life, promote economic development, and protect the environment.
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The SCM5B, SCM7B, and SensorLex® 8B signal conditioning modules from Dataforth (Tucson, AZ) are all fully encapsulated, making them corrosion-resistant and well suited for use in rugged environments like wind turbines.
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The AEGIS WTG™ grounding ring from Electro Static Technology (Mechanic Falls, ME) channels harmful shaft currents away from bearings to ground - preventing bearing damage that could cause wind turbine generator failure, unplanned downtime, and repairs.
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Photovoltaic and wind energy plants, hydroelectric power stations, and biogas plants can be complex to design and maintain. In designing a hydroelectric power station, an engineer needs to know what the pressures, temperatures, and fluid flows will be in the facility. Virtual reality makes planning and operation easier.
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Renewable energy will be the world’s fastest-growing source of electricity generation over the next two decades, although it will still make up a relatively minor portion of the global energy supply, according to the Energy Information Administration. The majority of that increase will come from the use of wind power and water power, or hydropower.
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In the near future, a crumbling parking lot in downtown Dallas, Texas will be the location of the first fully sustainable, urban square block in the United States. Re:Vision Dallas is the sixth competition in a series from the San Francisco, California-based organization, Urban Re:Vision – a group of people focused on changing the urban landscape by re-imagining the components which make up a city block.
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News of the world's first full-scale floating windmill being built spread over a year ago. Now, the Hywind has reached its final destination, where it will face rigorous testing. The Hywind concept combines known technologies in a novel way: a 2.3 MW wind turbine is attached to the top of a Spar-buoy, a solution familiar from production platforms and offshore loading buoys. It captures the wind's energy where the wind is strongest – out at sea.
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The 2008 NASA Tech Briefs "Create the Future Design Contest," presented by SolidWorks, recognized innovation in product design in six categories: Consumer Products, Machinery & Equipment, Medical, Safety & Security, Sustainable Technologies, and Transportation. Here is the winner of the Sustainable Technologies category, along with the two honorable mentions.
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