Saul Griffith on kites as the future of renewable energy

In this brief talk, Saul Griffith unveils the invention his new company Makani Power has been working on: giant kite turbines that create surprising amounts of clean, renewable energy.





TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

New wind turbine design good for rural, urban environment

Wind power is one of the fastest growing forms of alternative energy in the world. More and more, wind power mills are seen in the countryside, in large wind farms and for the most part, away from city life. But a new form of wind power is now designed to work in an urban environment. VOA producer Zulima Palacio has the story. Mill Arcega narrates.

The Queen buys the world's largest wind turbine

The Queen is investing in the world’s largest wind turbine. It’s a prototype of a new line of wind turbines called “The Britannia” which will be produced by Clipper Windpower, based in California. The turbine tower stands about 328 feet, has a diameter of 492 feet, and can generate 7.5 megawatts. Currently, the largest installed wind turbine is the massive Enercon E-126, which is rated at 7 megawatts.

The sale was made to the British Crown Estate, which owns most of the seabed off Britain’s shores, regularly leases out its land to wind farm projects but has never invested in the turbines. The prototype turbine is part of Britain’s ambitious goal of generating 33 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2020.

(via Metaefficient)

New wind turbine good for urban and rural environments

Wind power is one of the fastest growing forms of alternative energy in the world. More and more, wind power mills are seen in the countryside, in large wind farms and for the most part, away from city life. But a new form of wind power is now designed to work in an urban environment.

Wind power on the rise

Wind is the fastest growing energy source in the world, and in the US wind farms have popped up in more than 30 states, producing enough energy to power an estimated 2.5 million homes a day. Thanks to growing concerns over natural gas prices, a desire for energy independence and incentives for renewable energy production, it’s expected this trend will continue. A clean, renewable energy source, wind energy systems generate no water or air emissions.

While critics of wind power point to a price discrepancy, noting that construction costs for wind-powered generators can run double those of fossil fuel plants, supporters counter that once wind facilities are constructed, there are no fuel costs, because wind, of course, is free. Likewise, they say that since maintenance is considered minimal, wind-power costs are competitive.

Experts say it’s relatively easy to harness the energy in wind- essentially you put a rotor on top of a tall tower, the wind blows the rotor, which is connected to a shaft, which drives an electrical generator to produce electricity. The American Wind Energy Association forecasts 6 percent of all homeowners in the U.S. will receive their electricity from wind by 2020.