Researchers have created a new kind of generator that uses bacterial spores to harness the untapped power of evaporating water. Scientists from Harvard and Columbia universities have created small, prototype generators by coating a sheet of rubber with a soil bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, that greatly expands and contracts with changes in humidity.
Offshore wind power is undergoing intense growth in order to meet the European energy targets laid out for 2020. Research and development is being carried out into all aspects of the industry as it attempts to emerge as the main source of renewable energy throughout Europe.
According to Phoenix, Arizona resident Dick Hales, the turbulence created by commercial jets sitting on the runway waiting to take off is a prime source of wind energy, but to date no one has thought of a way to harness it.
Jets sitting on the runway pre-takeoff can create wind speeds of up to 300 miles per hour. In the United States, where about
The rapid growth of wind power in Texas is already reducing consumption of natural gas and lowering the cost of electricity generation in the state, according to a Wall Street research group. Bernstein Research reports that the rising output of wind turbines in Texas — the world’s sixth-largest producer of wind power — has eliminated the need to fire up natural gas-powered generators to meet the last bit of demand during periods of low energy usage.
Powering up natural gas generators is expensive, and Bernstein reports that the spreading use of wind turbines “can have a material impact on the price of power.” The report predicted that the “growth of wind power in (Texas) over the next three years will markedly lower the consumption of gas and coal by conventional generators.”