wind turbines

For centuries now, civilization has been working toward an unsustainable future, burning fossil fuels for heat and electricity and creating a way of life that is a model of inefficiency. The tiny Danish island of Samso is leading the way back to sustainability, becoming the one of the first industrialized places in the world to qualify as completely energy self-sufficient.

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Wind turbines can be a radar operator's worst nightmare. By scrambling radar waves as blades spin faster or slower, large wind farms are sometimes capable of erasing airplanes from radar screens completely. But a Danish wind turbine company and a UK defense contractor may have found a solution by unveiling the first "stealth" wind-turbine blade last month.

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Clean tech has seen a boost as the U.S. pours government funding into renewable energy, and China looks set to reap much of the benefits. Latest example: a Chinese wind-turbine company has just become the exclusive supplier for one of the largest wind-farm developments in the U.S.

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A team at Harvard decided to reinvestigate the potential for windpower around the globe, and found their new results to be significantly different than previous studies. According to the new study, we're capable of someday producing 40 times more power via wind than we currently consume overall.

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Hidden Wind

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The first skyscraper to integrate large-scale wind turbines suspends three 1,200-megawatt units between its matching 787-foot office towers. The turbines, which were completed in April, supply 15 percent of the electricity for the two buildings—roughly the same amount used by 300 homes. [ Read Full Story ]

The Canadian startup Magenn Power has started testing its airship-based wind turbines. The Magenn Power Air Rotor System, or MARS, consists of a blimp-like device that is tethered to the ground, and rotates about its horizontal axis in the breeze. This action generates electrical energy, which is sent down the tether to a transformer, and eventually routed through to the grid.

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The concept of harvesting the ocean as an energy source is nothing new, but in practice it's rarely utilized. That's beginning to change, though. This week, the first major underwater turbine was installed in Northern Ireland's Strangford Narrows—a body of water known for its fierce currents. SeaGen's twin blades measure 52 feet wide, and instead of intermittent winds, this green electricity generator will rely on the ever-changing tide to produce power for around 1,000 homes. Built by Marine Current Turbines, it will be operational this summer.

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A new player has stepped into the middle of the Cape Cod offshore wind farm debate, proposing a technological solution that may finally bring the long-running fight to an end. Blue H, a subsidiary of a Dutch company, has proposed the installation of 120 floating wind turbines that would be anchored far from shore and, more importantly, out of sight. Cape Wind, the company that first proposed an offshore wind farm in the area, wants to use standard turbines. But those with beachfront property in the area dont want their lovely views of the seascape ruined by the spinning blades.

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One common complaint about wind turbines is that they blemish the scenic countrysides and coastlines where they perch. Now an architect in London has an attractive solution. The wind dam, a giant swath of fabric connected to a turbine, looks more like a Christo art installation than a power generator.

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Wind power is the world´s fastest-growing energy source. Existing capacity worldwide is approaching 50,000 megawatts-roughly equivalent to that of 50 nuclear power plants. But there are problems with this seemingly benign wellspring of pollution-free electricity. Aside from being noisy, the whirling turbines interfere with television reception and are generally considered terrestrial eyesores rendered useless when the wind stops.

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