Oregon Field Guide: Wind Turbine School

Go to a classroom three hundred feet in the air to learn all about wind turbines and what it takes to keep them spinning. As more and more wind turbines come on line in north central Oregon, Columbia Gorge Community College’s Renewable Energy Technology program is training the local workforce to meet the need for skilled technicians who can repair and maintain these technological marvels.

I do not think this is the job for me.

Wind Turbine …. as the green future unfolds.

Coming to a Rooftop Near You: Maglev Wind Turbines

Vertical wind turbines put pressure on bearings, but one company, Enviro Energies, has a better idea: maglev or magnetic levitation of the turbine so that it will turn, not on bearings that need lubrication and servicing, but on a virtually frictionless force field of magnetism. In addition, Enviro sees its new vertical turbine as suitable for city rooftops, as its design takes even light wind currents from any direction and converts them to usable electrical power. See a Discovery Channel denmonstration of how the turbines work. Then jump over to their products page for more information and pricing.

… as the green future unfolds.

American Wind Projects

The U.S. wind industry is on its way to charting another record-shattering year of
growth. That capacity will generate over 60 billion kWh of electricity in 2009,
enough to serve over 5.5 million American homes and eliminating the burning of

* 30.4 million short tons of coal (enough to fill two 1,000-mile-long coal trains),
* 91 million barrels of oil per year, or
* 560 Bcf of natural gas (about 9% of the natural gas used for electricity generation)

Hull, Massachusetts – Offshore Wind Turbines
This resort town, population 11,000, plans to moor four 260-foot-tall turbines a (more…)

Smart Water

A standalone desalinator needs 17 gallons of diesel fuel and 66.5 kilowatts of
electricity to make 1,000 gallons of freshwater, but now, the Solar Cube, (made
by Spectra Watermakers in California), churns out 1,500 gallons of drinking water
on just 22 kilowatts of its own solar and wind power. The innovation is a pump
that triples efficiency by recapturing hydraulic pressure during the filtering
process. Solar Cubes are now bringing freshwater to remote regions and places
short on infrastructure and electricity without paying the CO2 price – way cool. (more…)

Home Wind Systems are Selling well in spite of a soft US economy.  Wind Energy 7 is
helping homeowners to build and install wind/solar hybrid systems.  They have complete
kits of matching components starting at $2450 and going up to whatever size project a
customer needs. The best selling is the smaller rooftop mounted turbines that connect
with a solar panel to give clean reliable power.

Rooftop wind turbine and solar hybrid

The cycles of heavy wind season in winter, heavy solar season in summer go hand in
hand with their hybrid wind/solar systems.

Wherever wind resources are available, a solar system should have a wind turbine to
supplement it.   Wind blows more at night, sun is stronger by day. Wind is stronger
in winter seasons, sun is stronger in summer seasons. Our systems have more balance
than a straight wind or solar system. By combining wind/solar as a hybrid system,
their charging capability is more steady and consistant.

Wind Energy 7 designs, develop, and fabricate wind/solar hybrid energy products
that they sell online.  Customers have found the kits to be easy to deploy and
understand.

I know this is still expensive for most folks but it is a start with the right (more…)

I found this at EcoGeek and found it to be another interesting idea.

FloDesign, a Massachusetts based engineering firm, has designed a new wind turbine
that deviates from the standard windmill in a compelling way. Its main feature is a
stationary piece in front that directs wind into the spinning blades. Overall, the
machine looks more like a jet engine than a wind turbine and it packs quite a punch
as well – a FloDesign turbine can generate as much power as a conventional turbine (more…)

If you are looking on how to break into the new green movement but are not sure on
how to start.  Well, the Mitchell Technical Institute is providing a training
course, it is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and it is offering a degree
in wind turbine technology.

They talked with utility providers and firms that are putting up the wind farms
and tried to determine what it is they need for a worker.  There probably are fewer
than two dozen such programs in the nation.

Starting next fall, students can choose between a one-year program that grants a
diploma to be a wind turbine technician and a two-year degree that qualifies them
for more advanced work. (more…)