Blowing in the wind

26.01.2007 from LogicalScience blog:
This turbine is claimed to be very quiet, usable around buildings, easily integrated into towers and the general urban environment.

25.01.2007 from Treehugger:
Great to find a product that is new, different and actually available (in North America anyway). It's a 'Magnetically-Levitated Axial Flux Alternator Vertical Axis Wind Turbine' which really runs best on a rooftop. Impressive.

10.01.2007 from Thrilling Wonder blog:
Modern offshore wind farms promise to be exceptionally energy efficient. When the weather is calm they also look fetchingly beautiful. Enjoy this pictorial guide.

05.01.2007 from Treehugger blog:
This new prototype turbine, called Stormblade, works by accelerating the wind onto the blades and is therefore more efficient at low as well as high wind speeds. It's bird- and bat-friendly too.

31.12.2006 from British Wind Energy Association:
BWEA have launched a guide on choosing and siting a small wind system, electricity savings, payback times, grant funding and how to contact manufacturers, aimed at consumers from the domestic, public and business sectors.

20.11.2006 from Cleantech blog:
Wind turbines may 'not yet be setting the world on fire like rooftop PV solar products, but I’d certainly like one on my roof,' claims Neal Dikeman.

20.11.2006 from SkySails:
SkySails has developed a wind propulsion system based on large towing kites, which, for the first time, meets the requirements of shipping companies.

16.11.2006 from Danish Wind Energy Association:
Thinking of installing a turbine? How do you work out whether it will work as you want it to and where you want it to? This excellent site gives you all the details you could possibly want. e.g. Click 'Know How' and take the 'Guided Tour'.

12.11.2006 from aboutmyplanet:
Five things to keep in mind when installing a wind turbine.

15.10.2006 from GreenLivingUK:
Even with a modest diameter, KiteGen should produce half a gigawatt of energy.

06.10.2006 from Treehugger:
A new type of compact wind turbine that sits on the parapets of a building rather than the roof.

22.09.2006 from The Energy Blog:
'These L-cells can provide peak powers between 1kW and 10MW and backup capacity of 4 hours to 10 days. The devices are seamlessly integrable with power grid, solar and wind installations.'

07.09.2006 from The Watt blog:
The Sorne Hill Windfarm will be one of the largest wind farms in Ireland when it's complete. What's new is that the power it generates can be stored in special batteries.

29.08.2006 from It’s Getting Hot In Here blog:
A DIY turbine which any practical person can build.

29.04.2006 from Dvorak Uncensored blog:
A new windfarm, south of Glasgow, will produce enough electricity to power 200,000 homes. But what about the NIMBYs?

11.01.2006 from Triple Pundit:
The Irish government plans to build what will become the world’s largest offshore wind farm. With a price tag of $630 million, it will dwarf all previous marine wind farms with its 200 turbines.

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This popular proposal will reduce Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions by 13 million tonnes per year and generate around 10% of its electricity.

17.12.2005 Alternative Energy Blog:
A miniature urban wind farm is being built on top of a 13-storey building in Manchester city centre using micro wind turbines.

The 24 turbines, which will stand 3m tall, will be erected on top of the CIS building on Portland Street. The turbines will produce 56,000 units of renewable energy each year, enough electricity to service about 5% of the energy needs of the building.

16.12.2005 Interesting piece in the Guardian about a new mini wind turbine made in Scotland by Windsave. It’s said to produce 1kW in a 12 m/s wind. In our case it would only contribute a little, but at only £750 it’s worth it if only to experiment with and offset a little of the increased electricity use with the heat pump. What makes it possible for Hedgerley is that it is barely above the roof height, doesn’t require planning permission and plugs straight into the existing electricity meter.

16.12.2005 The basic wind story looks pretty promising. If an average house uses around 10,000 kWh a year, then a 5 - 15 kW turbine can made a sigficant contribution to this. A 10 kW turbine, for example, would cost around 20,000 pounds and payback in 15 years. A turbine operates in winds over 10 mph and typically produces in an average year 30% of its potential output. This suggests that if it runs successfully for 30% of the year (say 100 days) it should produce 100 x 24 x 10 kWhs = 24,000 kWhs.

But theory aside, we need to check out practical case studies from people who have done it.

29.11.2005 Alternative Energy blog:
Domestic wind turbines have been described as "the new handbags" - the latest luxury items craved by those who want to be first to try new technology. But this description overlooks their green credentials, because any electricity powered by the elements is reducing CO2 emissions, which are blamed for global warming. And there are also the financial motivations. A household with a windmill can save money on bills and sell excess electricity back to the national grid. So could wind turbines become a nice little earner? They are certainly on the increase - 7,000 households have been given grants to get the turbines installed.