Wind Energy News

Americans are using less energy overall and making more use of renewable energy resources. The United States used significantly less coal and petroleum in 2009 than in 2008, and significantly more wind power. There also was a decline in natural gas use and increases in solar, hydro and geothermal power, according to the most recent energy flow charts.

Researchers have developed a way to use a kite itself to measure wind speed. The instrument consists of a 2-meter-long and 1-meter-wide Rokkaku-type kite.

Aerospace engineers at NASA's Ames Research Center are conducting a series of wind tunnel tests to develop technology for future human space exploration. Using a six percent scale Orion model, featuring complex moving parts, engineers are simulating various launch abort conditions the spacecraft might encounter during ascent to characterize the effects of launch abort and control motor plumes on the aerodynamics of the Orion spacecraft.

Electromobility makes sense only if car batteries are charged using electricity from renewable energy sources. But the supply of green electricity is not always adequate. An intelligent charging station can help, by adapting the recharging times to suit energy supply and network capacity.

Investment in green energy in China, most notable in wind energy, leapt 53 per cent in 2009, bucking a trend during the recession that saw global investments dip 7 per cent overall from 2008 levels. However, if spending on solar water heaters (now used in 70 million world households) and total installation costs for rooftop solar were included, renewables investment worldwide increased last year.

The "Renewable Energy Snapshots" report, published by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, shows that renewable energy sources accounted for 62 percent of the new electricity generation capacity installed in the EU27 in 2009. The share rose from 57 percent in 2008. In absolute terms, renewables produced 19.9 percent of Europe's electricity consumption last year.

While offshore wind turbines have already have been constructed as a renewable energy solution, they've traditionally been situated in shallow waters, where the tower extends directly into the seabed. Now a group of researchers in California has studied the feasibility of placing wind turbines on floating platforms.

The concept of a wind-powered vehicle that can be used to explore the surface of Mars -- a "tumbleweed rover" -- has been around for more than 10 years, but there has been no consensus on exactly what that vehicle should look like. Now researchers have developed a computer model that allows engineers to test the attributes of different vehicle designs before creating costly prototypes for testing in real-world conditions.

The quest to derive energy from wind may soon be getting some help from a fluid-dynamics expert -- and a school of fish.

Engineers are developing new and improved poles to carry electricity across the countryside. They say the new structures -- which can bend and deflect an extreme load -- would be cheaper, easier to install, more secure and more resistant to cascading failures. That means better electrical service for everybody.