VIDEO: Truck-mounted wind power kite
German startup EnerKite have successfully tested their kite wind turbine which is mounted on the top of a converted fire engine and flies in a figure of eight formation, pulling on ropes to generate power.
VIDEO: World’s largest plane for carrying giant wind turbine blades
US startup Radia are aiming to build the world’s biggest aircraft, WindRunner, to carry giant onshore wind turbine blades directly to wind farms, landing on semi-prepared dirt or gravel landing strips.
New offshore wind turbines can take away energy from existing ones
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder in the United States are studying how offshore wind farms along the East Coast impact each other’s power output due to wake effects.
World’s first wind turbine with solar panel blades
Spanish startup Soleolico, unveiled their wind turbine in Santander, Spain (6th Oct 2023) which merges wind and solar energy by incorporating photovoltaic panels into its blades, aiming for continuous electricity generation.
Wooden wind turbine towers
From Superinnovators 25/01/24 Swedish startup Modvion (f. 2015) completed their first commercial wind turbine project in Dec 2023 providing a 105-meter tower made of laminated Scandinavian spruce. The turbine, near Skara, Sweden, is now spinning and accommodates an industry standard 2.0MW Vestas generator and carbon fibre blades, totaling 150 meters in height. Modvion’s novel wooden […]
Wing blade track promises wind energy at 1/3 cost
From Superinnovators 08/12/23 US company Airloom Energy, supported by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, has developed a wind energy harvester with a novel design featuring vertical wings on an oval track, a stark contrast to traditional turbines. This innovative setup, unveiled last week, aims to significantly lower wind power costs, potentially to one-third of current […]
Magnetic squirrel bot inspects telecoms and wind turbine poles without tether
From Acuity Robotics 18/08/23 Introducing the world’s smallest untethered robot that climbs ferrous infrastructure. Acuity Robotics, a spin out company from the University of Leeds, has built the world’s smallest untethered robots for ferrous infrastructure inspection. The six magnetic wheeled robot is called Squirrel and has the ability to catch data and imagery as well […]
New recycling method for 840,000 tonne waste problem that isn’t single-use plastics
From UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY 04/07/2023 It’s estimated that by 2030 carbon and glass fibre composites (CFRP), materials commonly used in wind turbine blades, hydrogen tanks, airplanes, yachts, construction, and car manufacturing, will be a key waste stream worldwide. The annual accumulation of CFRP waste from aircraft and wind turbine industries alone is projected to reach 840,300 […]
Novel low-pressure void rooftop wind turbine design
By Charles Carter, 21/10/22 US startup Aeromine has developed a novel way of harvesting rooftop wind energy that features aerofoils and an enclosed turbine. The device generates up to 50 percent more power than other sustainable rooftop energy systems, at the same or lower cost, according to its inventors How does it work? Two curved […]