power

Vertical-axis wind turbine spins into business

Mariah Power says its Windspire vertical-axis wind turbine is now commercially available, after having passed performance tests.

The Windspire costs $4,995, which includes the inverter, pole, and other equipment.

Typically, small-wind turbines such as Southwest Windpower's 1.9-kilowatt Skystream, are best suited for homes with a substantial amount of land.

Mariah Power said the Windspire is aimed at residential customers in urban, suburban, and rural areas. It has already been installed in a handful of U.S. locations.

"(Its) efficiency is on par with most propeller-based wind turbines, but it is priced much lower. It is also … Read more

Solar media players aren't quite there yet

The way things are going, it's possible that portable solar chargers could be bypassed altogether if manufacturers can build the technology directly into their media players and other handheld devices. Not many are doing that yet, but we have seen a few.

A few months back a company called eMotion unveiled a solar media player, though it seemed to sacrifice other specs to make room for the green technology. Now Tokyo-based Thanko has released its own version with similar shortcomings, an MP4 player with 4GB of built-in storage and a 2-inch display, according to CrunchGear. The solar panels, which … Read more

Wind power outlook weak in Europe, report says

Rising materials costs, engineering challenges, and installation snags threaten European goals to dramatically expand wind power, according to a report by Cambridge Energy Research Associates.

The European Union aims to get 20 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020. But wind power won't meet a significant portion of that unless more government subsidies help companies offset increased costs, the firm warned Wednesday.

The world market for wind power will grow by 155 percent by 2012, according to a March report by the Global Wind Energy Council.

But a global backlog of turbines has sent wind park builders scrambling … Read more

Putting wind to work on farms

Financing company MMA Renewable Ventures is branching into wind energy, betting places like family farms are underserved.

The company on Wednesday is expected to announce the launch of its wind business, which will provide financing and project management for installations between 10 megawatts and 50 megawatts.

Its first customer is a planned 10-megawatt project, the PaTu Wind Farm in Oregon, which is expected to go up by 2009. MMA Renewable has a pipeline of deals worth 200 megawatts, said Moira Geraghty, vice president of wind finance at MMA Renewable Ventures.

In general, the deals will be structured so that MMA … Read more

Hackers attack Russian nuclear power Web sites

In what Russian officials say was a coordinated effort, hackers knocked Web sites for nuclear power plants offline temporarily last week amid false reports of an accident at a plant, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Several Internet forums had false reports of radioactive emissions from the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant near St. Petersburg at the same time as some official Web sites that provide real-time information about radiation incidents were attacked, said a spokesman for the Rosatom state nuclear corporation.

"This was a planned action by hackers, which has brought down almost all sites providing access to … Read more

Power Downloader shows you What's Running

One of Power Downloader's big concerns is that the average user lets his computer get away with too much. How many of us, Power D asks, truly know exactly which programs and processes are active at all times? There are several programs that can help you answer that question, and one of Power Downloader's favorites is What's Running.

What's Running is similar to Windows Task Manager, except far more informative and useful. The cramped multipane interface can be hard to read, but even it has its good points: it lists processes in a parent-child hierarchy--incidentally, not … Read more

WD's new external hard drives: More data that takes less space on the go

I recently reviewed the OWC Mercury and SimpleTech's Signature Mini external hard drives. I liked the OWC Mercury for its versatility in connections and its top-of-the-market storage space. I also loved the Signature Mini because of its light weight and compact, chocolaty design. On Wednesday, Western Digital (WD) joined this race of external hard drives that are so small in physical size, yet so large in storage space, with its My Passport Studio series. I now am a little confused and don't know yet how to feel about this one.

Weighing only 5 ounces, the My Passport Studio … Read more

Will people pay more for cleaner energy? You decide

It's funny how the same study can spark slightly different, even contradictory reactions. Consulting firm Deloitte released a report Monday of consumers' attitudes about household energy costs and climate change. Here's how two publications interpreted the results.

Greenwire: Most would accept higher electric bills to battle warming -- survey

A majority of Americans say they are willing to pay slightly higher electricity bills to help curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants...More than 36 percent of respondents said they would accept a 5 percent increase, and 17 percent of respondents would accept a 10 percent annual boost … Read more

Soy moves from tofu to electrical transformers

The lowly soybean has found a calling higher than tofu and tamari sauce. It's being used to insulate equipment bringing electricity to millions of homes.

More than 100 utilities are using soy-based oil as a safer, eco-friendly alternative to petroleum coolants in electrical transformers, which convert high-voltage power from a plant to a lower voltage for consumers.

Fires occur nearly every day around the country due to problems with transformers, say proponents of soy oil. On May 2, flames leapt 15 feet above street level through a manhole in Cambridge, Mass, temporarily shutting down Harvard Square.

Soy oil is … Read more