Visit www.engadget.com/2007/07/03
Generally speaking wind turbines have been reserved for more macro scale operations but a West Australian inventor believes he has developed a way to generate electricity for homes using wind power. This residential approach ues a modular turbine that is miniscule enough to perch atop any roof without causing too much unsightliness and can create power for the house to consume as the wind pushes its blades. Solar panels can be used in conjunction with the creation. The device is being funded by the West Australian government and could be ready for commercialization next year.
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3 comments:
Wind Turbines an Alternative to
Fossil Fuels
Message
To
Town of Greenburgh Parks and Recreation Advisory Board
May 5, 2004
Richard J. Garfunkel
Today we face an ongoing problem regarding the usage of fossil fuels. Obviously, from a market perspective the price of oil seems to be on an upward path, not destined to be ameliorated or tempered by positive market factors, short of a recession, for the foreseeable future. Also the dependency of overseas suppliers adds to our trade deficit and exacerbates our ongoing political problems. Places like Nigeria, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the like are in the near term and long term, potentially unstable. Today Iraq and Venezuela are prime examples of nations with huge reserves that are currently under jeopardy for totally different reasons.
Therefore from a geopolitical perspective the search for alternate and renewable resources should be paramount on the minds of both the government and the public it serves. Wind power is an increasingly significant renewable energy resource, producing no environmental CO2 emissions. The wind turbine collects kinetic energy from the wind and converts it to electricity. There are three bladed types that are operated “upwind” and two-bladed types that operate “downwind.” Wind turbines are manufactured by many companies around the world and this country, and come in all sizes with different though similar configurations. They are engineered to fit into the power grid, and they can be easily adapted to our current electrical system. From an environmental perspective their noise levels are equivalent to quiet bedroom at night. In a sense they would be 30% quieter than listening to a car travel by at 40 mph from a distance of 100 meters. Wind turbines can be extremely cost affective depending on the height of the tower and the constant speed of the wind. As per example a small wind turbine typically lowers one’s electricity bill between 50 and 90%. A typical wind turbine starts produce power at 6 mph. Of course, depending on the size and its efficiency, the payment may take a varied amount of time. Generally it takes 8-9 mph average speeds to make one’s site quite viable.
Presently the Town of Greenburgh, which includes villages and unincorporated areas, also has a long stretch of land that parallels the Hudson River. This may be the appropriate time to look carefully at some of the parkland, neighborhoods with wooded buffer zones and the Hudson River frontage as places where wind turbines could be placed.
As per example; in Searsburg, Vermont, 11 wind turbines, which cost $11 million to build, with $4 million from the DOE, produces 6 megawatts- that provides the energy for 2000 homes. Of course these are large “wind turbines” and they serve different, but similar ends.
My suggestion is that we form a small working committee to establish a “task force” on alternative sources of energy. This “task force” should not be limited to wind turbines, but explore solar energy, hybrid cars, and conservation.
I suggested this to the Town Board over three years ago, and this initiative was supported by Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, who has been a leader in conserving energy and seeking alternates to our classic consumption of fossil-fuels. The Board did nothing about this idea.
Hook up a machine to Sheehan and Bass. They are so filled with hot air that they can power up a small city.
Not only are Sheehan and Bass full of hot air but the other two ladies on the board have the tendency to put the audience to sleep .What a sad state of affairs.One lady wakes up when she hears the word library the other wakes up when she hears the word housing.Yes we do have to start to think about alternate ways to make electricty and also save.I would not mind putting a windmill in my back yard but living in the part of town that I do I'm quite sure it will cause a riot. One can make money doing this, since con edison buys back the electricity that you do not use. this is what I was told how true it is I really don't know , but I will find out.
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