New Generator Boosts Wind Turbine Efficiency 50% 315
MagnetDroid writes "A startup company based in Vancouver has developed a new kind of generator that could harvest much more energy from the wind. The design could not only lower the cost of wind turbines but increase their power output by 50 percent to as much as 100 percent, in some locations. Normally, when wind speeds drop, a turbine's engine becomes less efficient. The new engine, from ExRo Technologies, runs efficiently over a wider range of conditions. The design replaces a mechanical transmission with what amounts to an electronic one. Magnets attached to a rotating shaft create a current, but individual coils can be turned on and off electronically at different wind speeds." The company will begin field-testing a small, 5KW wind turbine by early next year.
Same ole, same ole... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Even less dependency on foreign oil (Score:5, Funny)
"In fact the very worst wind farm ever, Altamont Pass, killed fewer birds per year than a typical 3-story office building."
Wow, just think of the bird killing machine we could make if we mounted these windmills on 3-story buildings. I for one welcome less poop on my Humvee. ~
I for one welcome our new wind turbine overlords (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Even less dependency on foreign oil (Score:5, Funny)
he 'windmills kill birds' argument is just another way for the 'we're against everything' crowd to try to stop any kind of change
Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything
what a drag. (Score:3, Funny)
am i the only one worried that with a boom in windfarms, the drag on the earth's rotation will increase, slowing it and lengthening the day, making me stay at work *that* much longer?
Re:Even less dependency on foreign oil (Score:5, Funny)
We need to explore the effects/affects of what we do.
I agree. It's/its important not/knot to/two/too lose/loose sight/site of our/hour responsibility.
Re:Even less dependency on foreign oil (Score:5, Funny)
Do any actual humans seriously give a shit about migratory birds flying into windmills? That sounds like the sort of BS an internet troll might bring up. If someone told me that in face-to-face conversation, I would probably just stare at him as if he had said his goldfish commands him to sing it lullabies in falsetto every night, lest it destroy the universe.