These bike garages in Denmark are made from recycled wind turbine blades
While wind turbines play an important role in our transition towards a post-carbon world, they do pose a few environmental concerns. For example, most of the wind turbines operating today have a lifespan of about 20 years, which means that a large number of these gigantic pieces of machinery will Read More...
These dogs are sniffing out solutions for safer wind farms
Wind turbines are a great source of renewable energy in blustery climates, but like every solution, there are potential risks to be weighed as well. Turbines take a toll on local birds, bats, and insects, and although the effects of turbines on large birds like condors and eagles are well known, we Read More...
Placing turbines behind hills may help improve wind power efficiency
Finding ways to increase the efficiency of windmills has been on scientists’ innovation agenda for some time. While some innovators are working on radically different designs to achieve that goal, a recent study yields a rather unexpected finding — placing wind turbines behind hills could Read More...
How flight tracking is protecting eagles near South Africa’s wind turbines
South Africa’s blustery ridges are great for wind energy generation, but these prime renewable regions are also home to the country’s Verreaux's eagles, and protecting these eagles while generating clean power is becoming an increasingly pressing issue. To help reduce bird fatalities, Dr. Megan Read More...
Papilio is a self-powered street lamp designed to reduce light pollution
Human innovation has driven our civilizations forward, but oftentimes at the detriment of other species. For instance, conventional lights and street lamps allow people to work and navigate at night, but they can confuse nocturnal life and attract pollinators, killing them in the process. Tobias Read More...
Sustainable and beautiful "tulip turbines" pop up just in time for spring
Here at The Optimist Daily, we are big fans of wind energy as a renewable and sustainable source of power—but that’s not to say that it doesn’t come with a few downfalls. Wind energy requires wind turbines to convert kinetic energy into electricity. These turbines generate noise pollution, Read More...
Wind turbines on a vertical axis can boost efficiency of wind farms
According to the latest Global Wind Report, the world needs to triple its wind energy production over the coming decade in order to reach critical net-zero targets. While that’s a very ambitious goal, a new study demonstrates that by redesigning conventional wind turbines, we could boost their Read More...
These bladeless wind turbines could revolutionize the renewable sector
Bladeless wind turbines may sound counterintuitive, but a new startup aims to prove that these devices could reinvent the way we harness wind power to generate clean electricity. Called Vortex Bladeless, the technology is the brainchild of inventor David Yáñez. Together with his six-person team, Read More...
New blade design has the potential to reduce wind energy costs
As an increasing amount of evidence suggests, the world could be powered entirely by renewables a soon as 2050. But to make sure that happens, we need to continue to develop new, innovative designs that will streamline the transition to clean energy. That’s exactly what a team of scientists in Read More...
Re-Wind wants to build things using old wind turbine blades
While a rapidly growing wind energy industry is a positive sign for our transition toward carbon-free energy sources, there is a disadvantage to all this growth: more waste. The blades on wind turbines only have a lifespan of about 20 years, so older decommissioned wind turbine blades from early Read More...