Wind Power

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A miniature turbine measuring just 10 inches high is helping a research team led by Hui Hu - an Iowa State University associate professor of aerospace engineering - understand how hills, valleys, and the placement of turbines affect the productivity of onshore wind farms.
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Powerex (Youngwood, PA) has introduced IGBTs from 300A/1200V - 800A/1200V in conventional packages, allowing users an easy upgrade path for increased system ratings and/or improved reliability due to the increased allowable operating junction temperature. Applications include motor drives, fuel cells, and wind and solar inverters.
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Artificial photosynthesis is the process of converting carbon dioxide gas into useful carbon-based chemicals - most notably fuel or other compounds usually derived from petroleum - as an alternative to extracting them from biomass. An Illinois research team has produced a catalyst that improves the process.
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Smart Power Systems, Inc. (Baltimore, MD) has developed a 25-kW single-phase bi-directional inverter. The SPS-Pavan 25 features minimum harmonic point tracking to reduce harmonic distortion and a unity power factor operation while drawing or supplying power into a single-phase grid.
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The latest issue of Solar & Wind Power has more new feature articles, application stories, tech briefs, videos, products, technologies available for licensing, and research news - all on the latest advances in renewable energy.
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Researchers from California Institute of Technology have been conducting a field tests at an experimental two-acre wind farm in northern Los Angeles County. The farm, known as the Field Laboratory for Optimized Wind Energy (FLOWE), houses 24 10-meter-tall, 1.2-meter-wide vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) - turbines that have vertical rotors.
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Batteries could get an upgrade from an Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovery that increases power, energy density, and safety while reducing charge time. The results could also have significance for applications in stationary energy storage systems for solar and wind power, and for smart grids.
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Inverters/converters are a key element of most renewable energy systems where the power generated is not suitable to either be used locally or to provide power directly to the electric utility. Many renewable sources such as photovoltaics generate DC power, while some renewable sources such as wind turbine systems generate AC, but not at the same voltage and/or frequency required by the utility.
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Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers have used a common protein to guide the design of a material that can make hydrogen gas. The synthetic material works ten times faster than the original protein found in water-dwelling microbes - clocking in at 100,000 molecules of hydrogen gas every second.
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The latest issue of Solar & Wind Power has more new feature articles, application stories, tech briefs, videos, products, and research news - all on the latest advances in renewable energy.
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An important aspect of wind power plant impact studies is to evaluate the short-circuit current (SCC) contribution of the plant into the transmission network under various fault conditions such as single, two, and three-phase faults in different network locations.
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Remote villages without access to the power grid must rely on diesel or petroleum generators for electricity, which means they have power only when they can get fuel. Windlift develops portable airborne wind energy (AWE) technology for post-conflict reconstruction, disaster relief, and third-world development.
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Marine Innovation & Technology (MI&T) used digital prototyping software from Autodesk to develop the WindFloat^TM - a small, floating platform capable of supporting large offshore wind turbines - in previously inaccessible locations where water depth exceeds 50m and wind resources are superior.
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Join DOE's Wind Powering America initiative on Wednesday, July 20th, at 3:00PM EDT for an educational webinar. With the release of the Wind Energy Benefits fact sheet, three team speakers will discuss the myths and benefits of wind energy.
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Acoustics researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia are developing a computer model to predict the noise output from wind farms so they can accurately and quickly assess the effectiveness of potential noise-reducing designs and control methods.
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You might think a wind turbine would have more in common with a plane’s propeller than an aircraft wing, but wind blades actually behave a lot more like wings than props. This fact has enabled a valuable spinoff from aerospace to wind energy involving the first software that NASA ever allowed to be commercialized as part of the Agency’s ongoing effort to transfer technology to U.S. business and industry.
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Though considered a promising large-scale energy storage device, the vanadium redox battery's use has been limited by its inability to work well in a wide range of temperatures and its high cost. New research indicates that modifying the battery's electrolyte solution significantly improves its performance - so much so that the upgraded battery could improve the electric grid's reliability and help connect more wind turbines and solar panels to the grid.
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The latest issue of Solar & Wind Power is here. Inside the March issue are more feature articles, tech briefs, application stories, and technologies for license - all on the latest alternative energy solutions.
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CgWind is a new, high-fidelity simulation tool designed to meet the modeling requirements of advanced wind energy resources. These new resources, targeting 20% of the US electrical supply by 2030, require the development of larger and lighter wind turbines as well as more accurate estimates for the performance of turbines in realistic terrain and atmospheric conditions.
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Large wind farms are being built around the world, but operators are still searching for the most cost-effective and efficient way to arrange the massive turbines. To help steer wind farm owners in the right direction, Johns Hopkins University researchers devised a new formula through which the optimal spacing for a large array of turbines can be obtained.
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A mathematical transform, called the Rosette Transform, together with a new method, called the Dense Sampling Method, have been developed. The Rosette Transform is invented to apply to both the mean part and the fluctuating part of a targeted radar signature using the Dense Sampling Method to construct the data in a high-resolution grid at 1-km posting for wind measurements over water surfaces such as oceans or lakes.
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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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