MakeHeat

Some people see wind turbines as eyesores or complain about the sound of their whirring blades, but Soren Hermansen, chief proselytizer for the islands renewable energy experiment and director of the Samso Energy Academy, disagrees. “If you own a share in a wind turbine it looks better, it sounds better,” he says. “It sounds like money in the bank.”  Ed. Note – Personally, the 60Hz Hummmmm of the powerlines that I don’t live near are annoying too.

via 100 Percent Renewable? One Danish Island Experiments with Clean Power [Slide Show]: Scientific American.

Have to look into vertical turbines for our area.  We’ll have calm winds for weeks on end, then we’ll have gusts up to 50+ miles per hour.  This can wreak havoc on many wind systems.  Good to see options for urban dwellers and businesses that work, too.

Adobe Headquarters Installs 20 Vertical Axis Wind Turbines | Inhabitat.

“… Solar panels and wind turbines offer the promise of clean electricity by deriving their power from wind and the sun. But both suffer from the problem of intermittency: A gust of wind can cause a mill to spin faster, producing a power spike down the line, and a cloud passing over a solar cell can cause a sudden drop in electricity.

Meanwhile, utilities are rushing to upgrade the ability of the region’s interconnected power grid, which is based on 100-year-old technology, to tap renewable resources without causing problems for users. …”

ENERGY: Rooftop solar cells blossom, posing new challenges for power grid .

Looking more like an MLM (multi-level-marketing) ad site than an actual brick and mortar business, this Arkansas based company has a well engineered rooftop system for homes, businesses and windfarms.  You can connect them to the grid, storage systems and more, plus – they’ll engineer a system for your home/school/warehouse.  Can’t slight them too much on the site, it has all the information there: the jaded eyes of webbys may pass them up though.  Worth a hard look, including their FAQ page.  They also do residential hydro.
Thanks to http://twitter.com/EnergyKatya

Rooftop Wind Power -  Rooftop and Pole Mounted VAWT.

Good pictorial from the New York Times

Green China Rising – The New York Times > Business > Slide Show > Slide 1 of 8.

Full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/business/energy-environment/03renew.html?_r=1&ref=business

Simple Room Heating, Cheap Sun Tracker, Junkyard Windmills

Simple Solar Heater from Plastic
$15 Solar Tracker
Junkyard Windmill”

“… The energy itself may be free, but the system hardly is.  It costs about fourteen thousand dollars to install a solar photovoltaic system for an average three bedroom home.  And an average domestic solar hot water system costs five to ten thousand dollars.

 Small wind turbines and geothermal systems aren’t cheap either.

Luckily, the federal government, the state, and New Hampshire’s utilities want you to become more energy independent and efficient.  The owner of this building will get a 30 percent federal tax credit, accelerated depreciation, and a six thousand dollar state renewable energy rebate.  But finding and stitching together that crazy quilt of funding sources can give the most resourceful homeowner a headache. …”

Listen to the MP3: NHPR

How to Cut Your Alternative Energy Costs | New Hampshire Public Radio.

Made from spare parts and passion, including a bicycle (no, he didn’t ride it up there!), William is now supplying electricity to his family and neighbors.  

William Kamkwamba’s Ingenious Windmill »» MetaEfficient Reviews.