/  by Thomas DeVoss

electricpower: Wind turbine generates energy floating 350 feet off the ground Trials have just been finished on a new kind of wind turbine — an inflated, helium shell containing traditional blades that floats in the air stream. The airborne turbin…

electricpower:

Wind turbine generates energy floating 350 feet off the ground

Trials have just been finished on a new kind of wind turbine — an inflated, helium shell containing traditional blades that floats in the air stream. The airborne turbine is designed to capture stronger, high-altitude winds to provide a clean, portable and power energy option.

In the recent tests held in Limestone, Maine, a 35-foot scale version of the turbine was shown to generate more than twice as much power at high altitude than generated at conventional tower heights.

The Altaeros Airborne Wind Turbine (AWT) is transported to its location by a towable, docking trailer. The AWT is then deployed — in this trial some 350 feet above the ground — and held in place by tethers which also send the electricity generated back to the ground. Raising, operating and lowering the turbine was successfully completed a in fully automated cycle

Now that successful trials have been completed, the manufacturer, Altaeros Energies, plans to scale up the technology to float turbines 1,000 feet off the ground where wind currents are over five times stronger and more consistent.

In addition to being more efficient, these new turbines are able to deploy with minimal set up and impact on the environment. This makes them perfect for just about any adaptation from civilian to military use.

The AWT was modeled after aerostats, which are essentially blimps that lift heavy equipment and keep them airborne over long periods of time. These industrial blimps can survive hurricane level winds and have built in safety features to control descent.

Between these aerostats and the promise of the emerging AWT technology, the FAA was moved to release draft guidelines in December 2011 to allow for the new class of airborne wind systems to be cited under existing regulations.

Altaeros Energies was founded in 2010 out of MIT and is currently looking for investors to help launch the first commercial versions of the prototype turbine.

Altaeros Energies, via Inhabitat

DVICE

/  by Thomas DeVoss

amazing project in real life. decays into the surroundings, allows plants to grow over and around it, just beautiful. acidadebranca: Black, White & Grey Plans [534] co-zine: 110808 - Enric Miralles’ plan of the Cemetery at Igualada. My tutor, …

amazing project in real life. decays into the surroundings, allows plants to grow over and around it, just beautiful.

acidadebranca:

Black, White & Grey Plans

[534]

co-zine:

110808 - Enric Miralles’ plan of the Cemetery at Igualada. My tutor, in talking about precision of drawing, wondered how specific Miralles had been about the placement of the sleepers inlaid within the floor. It would be hard to tell how exactly this was specified - but from the above drawing, it at least seems that they were placed in specific locations. Still - this discussion of intention and exactness has always bubbled in Miralles’ work - from the setting out of a croissant, he is acutely concerned with the absolute specification of an irregular curve, but in the Mercader’s apartment roughly laid patches of tile are left blank on the drawings. Maybe this juxtaposition in the plans is what gives each piece of the drawing it’s own feel and in the final buildings creates a tension between the elements. Precisely crude or crude precision.

/  by Thomas DeVoss

npr: sunfoundation: Live Wind Map Shows Flow Patterns I get kind of giddy whenever I see a tweet from Martin Wattenberg and Fernanda Viegas. They rarely tweet, but when they do it’s usually because they’ve released a new project and they always a…

npr:

sunfoundation:

Live Wind Map Shows Flow Patterns

I get kind of giddy whenever I see a tweet from Martin Wattenberg and Fernanda Viegas. They rarely tweet, but when they do it’s usually because they’ve released a new project and they always announce it simultaneously. Their latest piece shows live wind patterns, based on data from the National Digital Forecast Database. It’s beautiful to look at.

Incredible.