In July, we mentioned a small wind turbine from Earthtronics and Honeywell and want to provide an update. We also have some newer images of what the actual turbine may end up looking like. The WT6500 Wind Turbine, referred to as the Honeywell Wind Turbine Gearless Blade Tip Power System, will be priced at $5,995, with early units available in select Ace Hardware Stores starting in February 2010.
This month, AES Wind installed its first demonstration AES WindJet 5 turbine in Overland Park, Kansas. The twin-rotor turbine is rated at 5 kW and was designed to increase efficiency by up to 54% over existing designs. With a slow rotor speed, the turbine is quieter, more durable, and less likely to create problems with birds.
Earlier this week, Green Wavelength LLC, a bio-inspired clean energy startup, unveiled their 19-foot, prototype, small wind turbine to crowds at The Perfect Pitch 2009 entrepreneur conference. Called XBee, the turbine – unlike any that you’ve probably ever seen – was designed with inspiration from the movement of bumblebees, hummingbirds, and dragonflies.
One hundred years ago, in 1909, architect Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett completed a document called the “Plan of Chicago,” which, to use the words of The New Yorker, “determined the shape of modern Chicago.” Now, in an effort to build upon the work of Burnham and plan for the next 100 years, Big. Bold. Visionary: Chicago Considers the Next Century presents the work of nearly three dozen architects and planners with a vision for the windy city.
Over the weekend, Hoffman Construction lifted four Southwest Windpower turbines into place on top of a new building, Twelve West. Located at Southwest 12th Avenue and Washington Street, Twelve West includes a mixture of office and apartment spaces and was designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects to achieve LEED Platinum certification. ZGF included the turbines in early renderings, and developer Gerding Edlen, probably the foremost green developer on the West Coast, determined to give the turbines serious chance.
Project Profiles
