Inhabitat

Michael Jackson Lives On In Blinged Out Wind-Powered Memorial

Michael Jackson will live on forever in our hearts through his music, but he also deserves a thriller of a memorial fit for a true king! In the wake of his untimely death, our friends at Bustler held a competition to design the Baddest memorial ever. Live Forever: The Michael Jackson Monument Design Competition yielded some impressive designs. Some were gaudy and a little ostentatious, and others even bordered on the line of inappropriate, but our absolute favorite was a blinged-out, gold-plated, and renewable energy-fueled disco dancefloor in a undisclosed remote desert location. What better way to immortalize the King of Pop?!

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A Wind-Power Vision for the Bronx’s Grand Concourse

Is it possible that the designers of NYC’s city seal peered into the future to see how important wind energy would be to us in the year 2009? Most likely not, but their decision to include a windmill in the city’s crest did provide the perfect inspiration for Philadelphian firm Austin + Mergold LLC to rethink the Bronx’s Grand Concourse in a recent architectural competition held by the Bronx Museum of the Arts. The project envisions the wide, urban avenue as New York’s newest monument to clean energy, lined with an army of powerful weblike wind turbines – a.k.a. The Grand Resource.

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NOAH: Mammoth Pyramidal Arcology Designed for New Orleans

All renderings courtesy of Tangram3DS

Arcology may sound like a made up word – probably because it is. A hybrid of architecture and ecology, it is essentially a mega city which packs a ginormous population into one hyperstructure – think Death Star, Zion in The Matrix or the Anthill of Antz fame. Now, a real-life group of ambitious designers has taken their looming pyramidal arcology and placed it smack dab on the Mississippi River as a proposal for the rebuild of New Orleans which is currently in progress. This 30 million square foot beast-building with an array of green features is aptly named NOAH (Get it? Noah and the Arcology?), and is meant to house 40,000 mostly human residents.

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Inter Estates: Freeways Turned Cash Making Farm Neighborhoods

What if we could take our huge chunks of boring, bland freeway shoulder and turn them into energy, food and big bucks? That’s what this finalist in our Reburbia Competition to redesign the suburbs proposes in his ambitious and financially-focused vision of the future: Inter Estates. These super-modern homes are vertically perched way atop highway-lining vertical neighborhoods that could be the wave of the future.

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Sleek Solar and Wind Powered Hybrid Street Lamps

As designers strive to create a more sustainable future, we’re thrilled to see designs that integrate a variety of renewable energy technologies into objects we encounter in everyday life. This innovative hybrid wind and solar powered street lamp is just such a solution – not only does it use renewable energy to provide light, it’s a stylish update to an everyday object that is capable of operating completely off-grid. The hybrid streetlamps consist of a solar array topped with a wind turbine, and they are capable of generating up to 380 W of power.

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‘Solar Ivy’ Photovoltaic Leaves Climb to New Heights

Solar Ivy (or SMIT Grow) is a spectacular system of thin, fluttering solar panels that generate energy by sparkling in the sunlight. The wind and solar power generating photovoltaic leaves can be easily integrated on the side of a building to produce energy. The concept, designed by Brooklyn based SMIT (Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology), consists of a layer of thin-film material on top of polyethylene with a piezoelectric generator attached to each leaf. When the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, energy is being generated via Solar Ivy.

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High Altitude Wind Turbines Could Completely Power NYC

How much wind power is available way up high in the sky? Turns out a lot, according to new research from the Carnegie Institution for Science and California State University. Researchers there recently crunched 28 years worth of data and discovered not only that high altitude winds contain enough energy to meet the world’s global energy demand 100 times over, but they also determined that the best places to capture that wind are over population centers in East Asia and the eastern US. Which means New York City is a prime candidate for high altitude wind energy captured by tethered kite wind turbines.

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Firewinder: The Wind Powered Outdoor Light

The Firewinder is an innovative outdoor light solution, powered entirely by the wind! Inspired and developed by young British inventor Tom Lawton, the Firewinder spins as the wind blows, turning into an eco-friendly night light. Lawton developed the light with a wish to highlight the invisible beauty and endless resource of alternative energies, and what a great job he did! Find …

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Wind Turbine Towers Win Metropolis Next Generation Prize!

Today Metropolis Magazine officially announced the winner of their 2009 Next Generation prize! Titled Wind-it, the brilliant project aims to give our existing energy grid a much needed boost by installing wind turbines in ailing electrical transmission towers. The project is designed for France, but creators Nicola Delon, Julien Choppin, and Raphael Menard believe it could be integrated everywhere, from China’s Sichuan Province to the streets of New York City.

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Optiwind Accelerating Wind Turbine Taps New Energy Fields

Traditional three-blade turbines are great if you have lots of space to play with, but the Optiwind Compact Wind Accelerating Turbine is ideal for high-density, low-wind areas. The turbine’s series of small, five bladed fans funnel in wind and accelerate it, thereby cranking up wind speeds to generate more power.

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Energy 101: What Is a Smart Grid?

In last week’s Energy 101 column, we took a look at the basics of where our energy comes from now. This week, we’re examining the future of energy—specifically, the smart grid. To recap, a smart grid is essentially a modernization of the transmission and distribution aspects of the electrical grid. In terms of transmission, a smart grid makes it easier to deliver alternative energy sources like wind and solar from rural installations to city centers. Without transmission lines, alternative energies are stuck where they’re produced—oftentimes in the middle of nowhere.

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Energy 101: Where Does Our Power Come From?

Today we’re excited to announce the launch of our new Energy 101 series, in which we’ll be exploring the future-forward technologies that stand to upgrade our grids, reduce our energy footprint, and slow the speed of global warming. Unless you have been living in a cave for the past few years, you’ve probably heard terms like “energy conservation”, “off-grid energy“, and “smart grid” tossed around. But before getting into the nitty-gritty of transitioning to renewable energy, we should stop and examine where exactly our power comes from now.

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Loopwing Wind-Powered Toy Car

Today’s tiny tots will be tomorrow’s eco designers, politicians, and engineers — so we can’t think of a better way to inspire the next generation to think about renewable energy than by giving them smart toys which use clean power sources like wind and solar. Loopwing’s clever wind-powered …

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Germany Aims Big with a 960-Megawatt Offshore Wind Farm

When it comes to offshore wind farms in the North Sea, bigger is certainly better! RWE Innogy, a German-based company, recently acquired the rights to a 960 Megawatt offshore wind project from ENOVA Energieanlagen GmbH, a subsidiary of the ENOVA Group. The offshore wind farm, named Innogy Nordsee 1, is anticipated to run just under 4,000 full-load hours and with the ability to supply over 3 TWh (Terawatt-hours) of electricity per year! Consisting of up to 250 wind turbines planned, each with a capacity of 5 to 6 Megawatts, this will be Germany’s largest offshore wind farm.

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First 100% Sustainable Island in the Caribbean

We eco-enthusiasts will soon have a new eco-paradise island to escape to! Bonaire, a part of the Netherlands Antilles, will be the first island in the Caribbean with a 100% sustainable energy supply. In 2007 the local government of Bonaire, who prides on its island’s beauty and natural preservation, agreed to this ambitious project of trashing its fossil fuel energy dependence and developing an energy system comprised of an 11MW wind farm, 14MW biodiesel plant, and a 3.5MW backup battery. Ecopower Bonaire BV, a consortium of Dutch-German companies, Evelop, Enercon, and local Bonaire Water and Energy Company, is spearheading this project that is expected to finish at the end of 2009.

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OMA Plans Massive North Sea Wind Farm to Power Europe

This week Rem Koolhaas’ Office for Metropolitan Architecture announced plans for an incredible array of oceanic wind farms that may one day produce as much energy as the Persian Gulf. Dubbed Zeekracht (sea power), the masterplan comprises a massive ring of wind farms centered around the Netherlands that spans seven adjacent countries. By calling for such a large network of communal infrastructure and knowledge, the plan takes a giant step towards ensuring European energy independency by 2025.

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Better Place Makes Electric Vehicle Grids a Reality

Lately the Better Place electric vehicle network has been expanding at an incredible rate, with Hawaii recently signing on for an electric vehicle grid and Israel recently unveiling the first completed plug-in charging spot. We recently touched upon the company when we covered California’s plans to become the electric vehicle capital of the US, but we wanted to go into more detail about Better Place and how their innovative electric vehicle network would work.

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TRANSPORTATION TUESDAY: The Kite Powered Car

Here at Inhabitat we love wind powered vehicles for their inspired approaches towards sustainable transportation – after all what could be simpler than sailing along on a breeze? Designed by Tsun-Ho Wang, Min-Gyu Jung, and Sung-Je Do, this futuristic Wind Light Vehicle is an electric concept car that can deploy a wing-like device to propel it along like a windsurfing board or even a kite!

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Ethiopia Announces Largest Wind Farm in Africa

When faced with the need to develop additional sources of energy, the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation recently decided that its best option was not to build conventional power plants. Instead, the electricity provider opted to fulfill its energy needs by building Africa’s largest wind farm! The 120 megawatt Ashegoba plant in north Ethiopea will provide for 15 percent of the nation’s present energy capacity.

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Aeolian Electric: Wind-Powered Sculptures

Although wind turbines are a well-known green energy source, they remain an invention far removed from the public eye. However, Elliott Montgomery’s recent Aeolian Electric Project at Solar One, a New York-based center devoted to promoting “green energy, arts, and education,” worked to break down the barriers between energy users and energy makers. The exhibition began when a small group of artists were commissioned first to participate in a turbine design clinic, and then to contemplate the relationship between people and wind energy with the goal to develop their very own wind turbine. The result was a handful of wind-powered sculptures that made up the exhibit at Aeolian Electric, where visitors could grasp the artists’ solutions– and give it a twirl themselves.

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The Solar Stik Portable Power Generator

The Solar Stik™ is a small-scale energy generator that is capable of providing clean, green energy wherever it is needed most. The versatile system takes advantage of both solar and wind turbine technology and is quick to set up, making it perfect for applications ranging from boating and recreation to providing emergency relief and humanitarian aid.

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Groundbreaking Energy Ball Wind Turbine for Home Power

Swedish company Home Energy recently revealed an innovative wind turbine that spins in a spherical formation. Eschewing traditional rotors for a sleek orb structure, this beautiful rethinking of conventional wind turbine design utilizes the Venturi principle, which funnels wind within the turbine’s blades. The resulting spherical wind turbine features increased efficiency and lower noise levels – making it ideal for small scale energy needs such as personal home use. Best of all it’s called the Energy Ball: the fun name is an added bonus.

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Texas to Build Wind Power Superhighway

Texas will soon be super-sizing its commitment to wind power, proving the adage that everything is, indeed, “bigger in Texas.” Already the nation’s leader in wind energy, the Lone Star state has been given a preliminary go-ahead to allocate $4.9 billion towards building new transmission lines to carry wind energy from rural areas into urban hubs like Dallas. This doesn’t necessarily mean the production of new turbines, just the most efficient use of the existing wind energy infrastructure. The upgrade stands to harness 18,000 megawatts from Texas’ 4,000 wind turbines – enough to power more than 4 million homes.

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STRANDBEEST: Theo Jansen’s Kinetic Sculptures

It’s not every day that you run across an entirely new strain of life, which is exactly what Dutch kinetic sculptor Theo Jansen has created. His Strandbeests are wondrous wind-powered automatons that exhibit an incredibly lifelike dexterity as they cascade in flowing waves down seaside sands. The elegantly articulated creatures are constructed using genetic algorithms and are constantly evolving to better suit their environment.

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Kite Power Could Generate Energy for 100,000 Homes

If we told you that a free-flying kite could provide enough energy to power your house, you might consider us crazy. How about all the homes on your block, or even an entire city? Scientists at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands recently tested just such a technology, tethering a 10 square meter kite to a generator to produce 10 kilowatts of power (enough energy for 10 homes). They are currently planning to scale the experiment with a 50 kilowatt kite and a 100 megawatt array called the Laddermill that could potentially power 100,000 homes!

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DEMOCRATIC DESIGN? Philippe Starck’s Designer Wind Turbine

A few months ago, prolific product design star Philippe Starck shocked the world with his proclamation ‘Design is Dead’, and the announcement of his pending retirement due to his frustration with the ethical/consumption issues inherent to product design:

“Everything I designed was unnecessary… and I am ashamed of this fact”

While we completely understand the sentiment, we were a bit frustrated about this pessimistic proclamation and subsequent retirement from the world of design. One would think that the most helpful and sensible approach to the realization that one has been wasting one’s time producing useless crap (like uncomfortable see-through plastic chairs and scarily alien looking lemon-juicers that can’t actually be used) – would be to STOP producing useless crap and start putting one’s talent to use to try to make a positive difference in the world.

And despite the melodramatic announcement this spring, perhaps this is where Starck is headed after all, despite the threats of giving up entirely. Recently Philippe Starck has brought an amazing idea for renewable wind energy to life through a sleek new mini wind turbine called ‘Democratic Ecology’.

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Broadstar’s AeroCam Breaks the Wind-Watt Barrier

Amid veritable fields of wind turbine options the Broadstar AeroCam stands out with an innovative design that packs a powerful turbine into a compact form factor. Constructed to spin on a horizontal axis, the micro-turbine’s multiple aerodynamic blades cut a profile similar to a water wheel and allow it to intuitively track the path of the wind as it rotates. The turbine is the industry’s first to shatter the $1/watt cost barrier, and Broadstar aims to make its AeroCam turbines a go-to option for rural, urban, and wind farm in-fill applications.

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Modular Architectural Wind Microturbines Take Off

From costly installations to strict city ordinances, there’s a number of factors that have limited the growth of wind power in urban environments. Now, Aerovironment is ushering in an era of urban wind power with a sleek series of small, silent turbines that eschew the need for a tower. Dubbed ‘Architectural Wind’, the system seamlessly integrates into the parapets of buildings, taking advantage of aerodynamics to catch wind as its speed escalates up a structure’s side. The turbine’s innovative approach boasts up to a 30% increase in energy production, and their adaptable, modular assembly makes installation a snap.

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Rotating Wind Power Tower to begin construction in Dubai

Dubai has garnered much attention in recent years with a never-ending supply of architectural wonders being built, or proposed, at a head spinning pace. Mostly these towering structures are grand and tall, but some are also green. We’ve covered many an ambitious Dubai skyscraper scheme here at Inhabitat, including David Fisher’s Rotating Tower, but there is new news from Fisher’s Dynamic Architecture firm. This self-sufficient, sun and wind powered design is making headlines once again as the Italian-Israeli architect has just unveiled the latest design for his twirling tower, and construction is set to begin this month!

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NANO VENT-SKIN: CO2 Filtering Solar Micro-turbines!

There’s nothing like a towering wind turbine to inspire NIMBY sentiment from neighbors and city councils alike. Enter a striking new alternative energy concept by Mexican-born Agustin Otegui, who works with economies of a much smaller scale. He has conceived of a next-gen Nano Vent-Skin that sheathes structures in a shimmering solar weave studded with micro-turbines. The concept takes advantage of a structure’s maximum available surface space, and its modular composition allows it to retrofit our old buildings instead of pouring resources into new ones. Plus, the stunning superstructure incorporates micro-organisms to soak up C02.

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Super Efficient Floating Wind Turbines from Magenn

Wind turbines at ground level produce at a rate of 20-25%, but when placed at altitudes from 600-1000 feet, energy output can double. Ottawa-based Magenn Power is in the prototype stages of the world’s first floating wind turbine. The Magenn Air Rotor System or MARS is a stationary blimp kept afloat with helium and tethered into place on an electrical grid. Centrifugal blades on the MARS can generate up to several megawatts of clean, renewable energy at a price well below our current grounded wind turbines.

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