Feel like renewable energy can be too expensive? This new type of generator might change that! Planned to allow for 50% more efficiency in harvesting energy from the wind all while being cheaper to manufacture. Because of varying wind speeds generators are tuned to be more efficient at optimum speeds, which in turn does not allow for nearly as good wind capture at other speeds. This new technology will allow for much greater efficiency over a much wider range of wind speeds. The generator has a sort of “gear box” in it that allows for more or less sequential coils to be attached to the turbine at a time. What this means is that lower “gears” (less coils) will be used for lower speeds allowing for optimum capture at such speeds and higher “gears” (more coils) will be used when more energy is available to turn so many coils. Check out the article for more details. The generators hope to be in full fledged testing facilities by early this year.

Often brought up by opponents of wind power is the fact that the energy source can be very intermittent. This of course can be true in some cases (especially onshore facilities) but now their is a solution on the horizon which, in my opinion, should have been thought of already! Of course I kid, the technology just hasn’t caught up yet but we are seeing some serious progress and these batteries are becoming economically feasible. Although they are still at a whopping $3 million per mega-watt (enough to power 500 average American homes for seven hours) they will only become cheaper and soon very worthwhile.

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