Dinosaur-Inspired Designs Make Wind Turbines More Aerodynamic

Retirado do site TreeHugger e também noticiado no Expresso:

"
EvaK via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

"In the grand scheme of things, we're still in the early stages of wind power generation, but even so, there are still many, many wind turbines already installed and generating power. When new technological advances come along like new turbine designs or tweaks to the blades or motors that can increase power generation, replacing entire wind turbines would be very costly. Because of that, Siemens has developed a set of wind turbine blade attachments that increase power generation without having to fully replace any part of the turbine.

The coolest part of these add-ons? They're inspired by dinosaurs.

SASE to tap wind energy in snow-bound areas

Retirado do site SESCO:

"by Vijay Mohan/TNS 

To cater to the energy requirements of the armed forces in remote snow-bound areas, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is exploring the potential of tapping wind power to generate energy.

While the Himalayan ridges are known for their high wind potential, accumulation of heavy snow and ice in that region is a critical factor that adversely affects sensitive structures and also jams moving parts in turbines.

New Flow Battery Propel Solar and Wind Power to the Grid

Retirado do site Sepco - Solar lighting:

"Posted by Liz Karschner

A major obstacle to the widespread use of solar and wind power to supply the grid is the problem of storing the energy produced at a low enough cost. Energy generated by the wind and the sun is subject to unpredictable fluctuations. Until now, the cost of batteries large enough to smooth out these swings in production has made the technology relatively uneconomic.

Torres Vedras pode tornar-se autossustentável em 2015

Retirado do site Portal das Energias Renováveis:

"19-05-2013

O concelho de Torres Vedras, onde residem 80 mil pessoas, produz mais de metade da eletricidade que consome e pode tornar-se autossustentável em 2015, devido à existência de fontes de energia renováveis.

Dados da Direção Geral de Energia e Geologia (DGEG), disponibilizados pela autarquia, revelam que as várias fontes renováveis existentes no concelho já contribuem com a produção de 250 gigawatts (GW) para as necessidades anuais de consumo, que são de 336 GW.

U.S. Nuclear Industry Withers as Wind Hurts Prices

Retirado do site Bloomsberg:

"By Julie Johnsson and Naureen S. Malik on March 11, 2013 Exelon Corp

A glut of government-subsidized wind power may help accomplish a goal some environmentalists have sought for decades: kill off U.S. nuclear power plants while reducing reliance on electricity from burning coal. That’s the assessment of executives and utility experts after the U.S. wind-energy industry went on a $25 billion growth binge in 2012, racing to qualify for a federal tax credit that was set to expire at year’s end.

Wind-generated electricity supplied about 3.4% of U.S. demand in 2012 and the share is projected to jump to 4.2% in 2014, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Photographer: Konrad Fiedler/Bloomberg

Altaeros Energies' Floating Wind Turbines Tap Into Strong High Altitude Winds

Retirado do site Inhabitat:

"In an effort to harness strong high-altitude winds, the company Altaeros Energies has developed a floating wind turbine that’s a cross between a traditional windmill and a blimp. After some successful tests, the Altaeros team is confident that this new levitating wind turbine will be a viable clean energy option for remote villages and military sites.

Tiny Rooftop Turbine Could Make Urban Wind Farms A Reality

Retirado do site Gizmo:

"Andrew Tarantola

There's a reason that wind farms are placed offshore rather than in urban areas—the turbines are typically huge, difficult to erect, and need a solid sustained gust to produce any meaningful amount of current. This prototype, on the other hand, will assemble easily and take up little space as it quietly produces kilowatts atop skyscrapers.

Conventional wind farms need wind that is both steady and strong but with very little turbulence. Their turbines are mounted atop 300-foot pylons to avoid the roiling currents at ground level and employ enormous blades to drive their MW generators. Everything operates on a grand scale with these farms, but they're impractical in an urban environment.

Yet cities can be so windy—tightly-packed buildings funnel and redirect natural air currents, resulting in irregular, gusty winds. That's exactly what conventional turbines can't handle. What's more, finding the real estate to safely install a 300-foot tall turbine in the middle of, say, New York City, is impossible. So a new vertical-axis turbine, the McCamley MT01 Mk2, is a designed specifically these dense urban areas.

McCamley MT01 Mk2 - An introduction (Youtube)

Projeto da EDP de eólica no mar em fase industrial a curto prazo

Notícia retira do Portal das Energias Renováveis e partilhada pelo Pedro Fonseca.

"22-01-2013

A EDP poderá desenvolver um projeto industrial de energia eólica no mar (“offshore”), semelhante ao que está atualmente instalado na Aguçadoura, na Póvoa de Varzim, dentro de três a quatro anos.

Renewables industry says projects displacing CO2 emissions

Extraído do site da BBC News:

"The renewable energy industry has published figures which, it claims, show Scotland is producing enough low carbon electricity to offset emissions from Longannet power station in Fife. 

Scottish Renewables said 15% of the country's total carbon emissions have been displaced by renewables projects. The figures have been welcomed by the Scottish government. But anti-wind farm campaigners have long disputed claims that wind turbines help reduce carbon emissions.

The renewable energy sector said the latest figures show wind and hydro developments have displaced 8.36 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. Supporters of renewable energy said that was the equivalent of taking some 3.5 million cars off the roads or turning off the country's biggest coal-fired power station.

The industry says wind and hydro projects have displaced 8.36 million tonnes of CO2 emissions

WindGEN 3000: "É português e pode ser a solução energética para qualquer casa"

Imagem representativa do WindGEN3000
(fonte: www.poweringyourself.com)

Retirado do jornal Público:

“Esta é uma história de confiança e tenacidade. Apaixonados pela inovação e as tecnologias ambientais, dois jovens licenciados apostaram no desenvolvimento de um microgerador eólico que pudesse satisfazer as necessidades de uma família em qualquer lugar, de forma simples e com custos acessíveis.

"É uma solução que serve para qualquer lugar, mas que se adapta na perfeição a países de grande dimensão como o Brasil ou Angola, onde a rede eléctrica não chega a todo o lado", explica Tomé Barreiro, o engenheiro mecânico, de 32 anos, que estudou e desenvolveu o modelo para a sua máquina. "A nossa ideia era apostar nas tecnologias ligadas ao ambiente e desenvolver produtos comercializáveis", complementa Hilário Campos, 35 anos, que vem da área do Direito e se dedica às questões organizativas e burocráticas.

Wind Power 101

Tal como num post anterior (link), vamos reutilizar o conceito do post "(...) 101" em que um dado conceito/tipo de energia é introduzido. Desta vez, o tema é a energia eólica!

Retirado do site Energy Eficciency and Renewable Energy - U.S. Department of Energy: Although all wind turbines operate on similar principles, several varieties are in use today. These include horizontal axis turbines and vertical axis turbines.

Horizontal Axis Turbines

Horizontal axis turbines are the most common turbine configuration used today. They consist of a tall tower, atop which sits a fan-like rotor that faces into or away from the wind, a generator, a controller, and other components. Most horizontal axis turbines built today are two- or three-bladed.

RTP, Instituto de Meteorologia e APREN juntam-se para lançar o Boletim Meteorológico das ER

Portal das Energias Renováveis

"A partir de segunda-feira, 9 de julho, os portugueses vão começar a visualizar o contributo real dos dias de sol e vento para a produção de eletricidade e aquecimento de águas quentes com o arranque do Boletim das Energias Renováveis no espaço meteorológico do programa "Bom Dia Portugal" da RTP1, num formato semanal dedicado à informação do público.

Baseado numa ideia belga, o Boletim das Energias Renováveis chega a Portugal pela mão da Associação Portuguesa de Energias Renováveis (APREN) com o apoio da RTP e do Instituto de Meteorologia, através de uma parceria no âmbito da educação para as fontes de energia mais limpas e sustentáveis, desconstruindo o conceito e introduzindo-o nos hábitos quotidianos.

Uma emissão exemplificativa (a partir do minuto ~1:20 é repetição)