Think Tank
Catching the wind with laser technology
The wind industry could soon be using a new type of innovative technology that has more to do with lasers than ecology. A new laser system that can be mounted on wind turbines allows them to prepare for the wind rushing toward their blades. These lasers act like sonar for the wind, bouncing off microscopically small particulates and back to a fiber optic detector. PES investigates ...
The data from the detector is then fed to an on-board processor which generates a three-dimensional view of the wind speed and direction. Subtle adjustments in the turbine blade's angle to the window allows it to capture more energy and protect itself in case of strong gusts.
The company that developed the Vindicator system, Catch the Wind, recently deployed a
Wind turbines are on the up.
The Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz fretted over his joints, and owners of wind turbines have the same angst. They need to be assembled offshore and maintenance of the joints is critical where a 20+ year life expectancy under the buffeting of winter seas and gusting storms is normal. The assembly is subject to prying forces, vibration and continuous temperature variation in a highly corrosive atmosphere of salt spray, rain and UV. Intellifast presents an illuminating despatch from the frontline of the wind energy arena...
As turbines move further offshore maintenance of these valuable assets and taking precautions to avoid failure gain in relative importance. Increases in unit size from 2 to 6 and now perhaps 10 or 12 MW unit size are favored by the economics and a
Keep on watching the skies
Wind turbines are on the up. The giant constructions are constantly getting taller because, as every schoolboy knows, the higher you get off the ground, the greater the wind speeds. But building big towers is a costly business, especially if you want one 15,000ft tall. So why not ditch the tower and make the windmill fly? PES investigates one possible future for energy generation...
It may sound crazy but several developers are now in the process of trying to achieve just the scenario above. There are three main leaders on the field - Sky Windpower, Laddermill, and Magenn. Some of the ideas are currently at the R&D, drawing board stage, while others are working prototypes - but they all deserve a look. What's more it seems obvious that once someone
Report claims China is putting the squeeze on US wind-power market
American companies are being squeezed out of the lucrative Chinese wind-power market at the same time as Dallas-based investors are bringing Chinese firms to the US via a big wind farm project in Texas, according to a new industry report. PES examines a potentially-damaging situation.
The study examines Chinese government policies promoting the development of industries producing equipment for generating electric power from renewable energy sources (hydro, wind, biomass, solar) to serve electrical grids. Those policies are transforming China into a major production base for renewable energy equipment at the watershed moment at which total global investments in renewable energy power capacity have surpassed investment in fossil fuel power capacity, the report cl
Solar power takes to the skies, seas and land
PES takes a look at three state-of the-art modes of transport which could help facilitate an energy-efficient future and help conserve the increasingly limited natural resources of the planet.
Skies
Some 110 years after the much-celebrated Wright Brothers designed and flew their first aircraft, the age of solar fight has finally arrived.
The ghosts of Wilbur and Orville could have looked on in sheer amazement as the Solar Impulse HB-SIA - the first aircraft designed to fly without fuel - left the ground for the first time at Dübendorf Airfield in Germany.
The final ground tests, in December 2009, had proved encouraging, showing excellent results for controllability, acceleration, braking paths and, eng
Page 1 of 4
