The bloggers at Engadget picked up on the Selsam small wind turbines, which look a lot like one of those amateur ham radio antennas we used to see on houses.  This small-scale wind solution is basically a single elongated shaft made of strong carbon fiber.  The carbon shaft holds rotors that range in size from 14-18 inches in diameter.  Apparently, the more rotors you have on a rod, the better output you get.  Invented by Doug Selsam, this 13-rotor small wind turbine can produce roughly 200 watts in 20 mph winds (or more in higher wind speeds).  It’s currently being tested and developed in California, so who knows, we may just start seeing stuff like this on top of houses and buildings?

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This is big news for the green building revolution, because a solar farm like this could power roughly 190k homes in California.  Referred to as the Topaz Solar Farm, this $1 billion, 550-megawatt plant would cover roughly 9.5 square miles, and if constructed, would be the world’s largest photovoltaic solar farm.  Hayward-based OptiSolar is developing plans for the project as we speak.  According to their current time line, OptiSolar will apply for a conditional use permit in May 2008 and begin construction in 2010.  Topaz Solar Farm would then be completed over three years.

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Swift Wind Turbine is a quiet, rooftop mounted wind turbine.  Unlike some designs you’ve seen previously, this one has an outer ring and five blades.  The outer ring acts as a diffuser — the wind travels down the blades and is dispersed along the ring, therefore eliminating noise and keeping the turbine quiet.  The company estimates a noise of less than 35 decibels for all wind speeds.  The 7 foot diameter ring needs a roof line clearance of a couple feet and in good winds, can generate up to 2000 kWh of power (1.5 kW @ 14 m/s). 

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Early in grad school, I purchased a halogen task lamp for my desk studies, but I grew tired of it for two reasons: it was too hot and the light was unbearable.  So recently, I started looking around for a new, energy-efficient task lamp and Haworth was kind enough to send me a Brazo Task Lamp designed by Pablo Pardo of Pardo Designs.  Brazo is a real award winner, taking both Best of Competition and Gold in Lighting for Best of NeoCon 2007.   I knew it was going to be nice, but I really had no idea.  Here’s my review …

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Green start-up companies are doing some crazy things, and this company, SMIT, is certainly one to watch.  SMIT, an acronym for Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology, spent the last two years in R&D with this interesting approach to solar and wind power.  SMIT's GROW product has two iterations, GROW.1 and GROW.2, pictured above and below. 

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