The Kite Wind Generator

Experts estimate that the wind blowing across the planet holds enough energy to meet all human needs 100 times over. The question then is how to capture it. There are some interesting new approaches being developed.

Alternative Energy News.Info reports.

"The Kite Wind Generator simply known as KiteGen is an Italian company. They are installing kites that sprout from funnel like structures. They are mounted on giant poles. When wind blows these kites come out of funnels. For short, use kites that spring from funnels on the end of giant poles when the wind blows. For each kite, winches release a pair of high-resistance cables to control direction and angle. These kites are light and ultra-resistant. These kites are similar to those used for kite surfing - light and ultra-resistant, capable of flying up to a height of 2,000 meters.

The basics of the wind turbines and KiteGen are same. But they have moved the heaviest parts to the ground. They claim that the resulting structure, base foundation included, is much lighter and cheaper. They have also provided flexibility regarding the height of kites. If the wind is strong at certain height, the height of the kite too can be adjusted accordingly. If today wind if blowing nicely at 1000m, say, kites can be adjusted at the same height. If tomorrow the strong wind is blowing at certain other height, wind kites can be flown at that height to gain maximum advantage of the wind power." See full article and video.

World Bank Will Invest In North African Solar Projects

The sun-soaked regions of North Africa provide major opportunities for alternative energy development.

Alternative Energy News.Info reports:

"The World Bank will invest $5.5 billion for North African solar power projects. They have announced that initially World Bank will put in $750 million dollars from the Clean Technology Fund with the remaining amount will be arranged from other sources. World Bank is expecting to complete these projects by 2015. They are willing to include five countries in this project and hoping to triple world wide concentrated solar power technology (CSP) capacity. This relatively new technology uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a single point, heating water to drive turbines. Construction of the 11 facilities in the project is scheduled to begin in 2011. It is expected that the North African project will generate a total of 900 MW in capacity by 2020." See full article.

Zero Emissions Concept Taxi May Come To Market In Mexico

Mexican car builders are showing interest in a dramatic new taxi design.

Mike Spinelli from PopSci.com reports:

"Industrial designer Alberto Villareal had an idea for a zero-emissions taxicab to replace the copious cabs of his home domicile: smog-choked Mexico City. He named the fuel-cell-powered taxi, which maximizes space while reducing weight and uses solar power to supplement its electrical system, MX-Libris.
Officials at Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany thought MX-Libris was such a novel solution to the city's car-for-hire ills that they gave Villareal their coveted Red Dot design award in 2008. Now, Villareal says two Mexico-based companies -- a taxi distribution and management firm and a car body maker -- could be ready to build a prototype of MX-Libris, and maybe even put it into production." See full article

Tiny Glitter-sized Solar Cells -- An Energy Revolution

Technology is emerging that can make the average person on the street a walking battery charger.

Jude Garvey for Gizmag.com reports:

"Scientists from Sandia National Laboratories have developed tiny, glitter-sized photovoltaic cells that are ten times thinner than conventional solar cells and could one day be used in a variety of applications – from satellites and remote-sensing, to tents and perhaps even clothing.

The Sandia research team identified over 20 benefits of scale for these tiny cells over traditional solar cells, including better performance, more efficiencies and possibly reduced costs." See full article.

Eighteen Wheeler Design Innovation Cuts Fuel Use By 7.5%

A "boat tail" addition to the nation's eighteen-wheeled tractor trailers would make a significant difference in U.S. fuel consumption.

Alternative Energy News.info reports:

"A simple attachment of a tapering protrusion at the back of a truck can save up to 7.5% in fuel consumption. This is a significant amount of fuel saving with a simple alteration. This fuel saving is possible due to dramatically-improved aerodynamics. It has been verified by road tests conducted by the Dutch PART (Platform for Aerodynamic Road Transport) public-private partnership platform.

They short listed adding of a boat tail to the back of the truck. What is a boat tail? It is a tapering protrusion which is mounted on the back end of a truck. Tail ends length is about two meters. The feasibility of this arrangement is already demonstrated by the wind tunnel experiments and computer simulations." See full article.

First Sea Water Osmotic Power Plant Goes Live

A form of alternative energy that shows great promise involves the ocean and the use of osmosis.

Clay Dillow of Popsci.com reports:

"Osmotic power works by separating saltwater and seawater in two chambers separated by a polymer membrane that will only allow freshwater to pass through. The salinity of the seawater draws the freshwater through the membrane, creating a great deal of pressure on the seawater side. That pressure can be used to turn a turbine to create power.

The Norwegians have no problem going big on their maritime energy projects either. Norwegian energy giant StatiolHydro recently erected Hywind, the world's first floating full-scale offshore wind turbine, and Statiol's Snohvit field in the Barents sea is the world's most environmentally friendly liquid natural gas plant and boasts the world's longest undersea pipeline system." See full article.