MakeHeat

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.

From New Jersy, USA:

“…Honeywell’s energy-efficient refrigerant is being used in an organic rankine

cycle (ORC) called the 35Z Micro Power Plant, manufactured by Germany-based Turbolina GmbH & Co. KG. The 35Z Micro Power Plant has a unique design that uses water heated by thermal solar panels to evaporate the refrigerant, which in turn drives a turbine to generate electricity. Because no fuel is burned to create the electricity, the unit does not produce any carbon dioxide emissions. The remaining heat from the 35Z can be used to supply heating andhot water. …”
Honeywell Refrigerant Helps Homeowners Convert the Suns Heat Into Power| Reuters.

Just started reading the article, but it looks interesting. “…Technology capable of generating electricity by extracting energy from heat that is otherwise just wasted is a fairly new branch of renewable technology. A typical co-generation plant uses waste heat from a gas or steam turbine for hot water or space heating. This Waste Heat Engine (WHE) developed by Cyclone Power Technologies operates at temperatures as low as 225F (107 C). The engine can generate up to 10kw from heat sources such as industrial ovens or furnaces, concentrating solar thermal collectors, engine exhaust and biomass combustion. …”

Solar Thermal Waste Heat Engine works at low temperature, low pressure.

M.I.T. has studied the possiblility of using geothermal energy as a source of electricity production. Currently, homeowners and more extreme Do It Yourselfers can use geothermal to heat and cool their homes using heatpump technologies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/opinion/14wed2.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink