Yesterday, we wrote about the debate over the "green power superhighway." Today, we'll highlight some technologies that will help with reducing greenhouse gases regardless of whether that is built.
A company named FloDesign Wind Turbine has developed a compact wind turbine that is three times more efficient than turning wind into electricity. The design takes features from jet engines to boost air flow and thus the amount of energy generated. Two hoops channel air into patterns that create what is essentially a miniature tornado as the air passes through the blades.
This new design has the chance to change the wind power industry. First, the size of the turbines is much smaller. That allows the FloDesign turbine to be carried on a single tractor trailer instead of requiring a caravan of truck. Obviously, that will save energy and reduce emissions even before the turbine is installed.
Second, it allows wind turbines to be put in places where the traditional three blade turbines don't make sense. It generates electricity at lower wind speeds and can handle more variation in the wind speed. The smaller size allows installation in places like cities and beaches where larger turbines don't fit.
These factors allowed FloDesign to get a grant from the Department of Energy, as well as funding from the well known venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield & Byers.
Another company that has developed a machine that addresses the water and energy consumption from the every day task of doing laundry. Commercial organizations like hotels, hospitals, and cleaners run tons of laundry through their machines every day. This creates a lot of wastewater and requires the use of a lot of electricity. The machines obviously use electricity but there's also a lot of power needed in order to clean the water both before and after it's used.
Now Xeros, which was spun out of the University of Leeds in Great Britain, is rolling out a commercial washing machine that trades 90 percent of the water used in traditional washers for rice sized nylon beads.
During the washing process, the beads, combined with squirts of water and detergent in a rotating drum, act as chemical magnets. They absorb dirt, grime, and soap as they tumble over the laundry. The beads are collected after the wash cycle and used hundreds of times before they are replaced.
According to the Xeros, the process they've developed cleans laundry to industry standards while cutting water used by 90 percent and energy used by 30 percent. Xeros has received funding of $3 million in public and venture capital. They hope to begin selling these units to commercial laundry clients by the end of 2010.
We hear a lot about how the push to go green will destroy jobs and kill the economy. Companies like FloDesign and Xeros show that's just not true and that the opposite is the case. These companies will create new jobs and their innovative new technologies will help address global warming.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=56fc3db9-6c1b-4e27-9faa-d915756007b0)
A company named FloDesign Wind Turbine has developed a compact wind turbine that is three times more efficient than turning wind into electricity. The design takes features from jet engines to boost air flow and thus the amount of energy generated. Two hoops channel air into patterns that create what is essentially a miniature tornado as the air passes through the blades.
This new design has the chance to change the wind power industry. First, the size of the turbines is much smaller. That allows the FloDesign turbine to be carried on a single tractor trailer instead of requiring a caravan of truck. Obviously, that will save energy and reduce emissions even before the turbine is installed.
Second, it allows wind turbines to be put in places where the traditional three blade turbines don't make sense. It generates electricity at lower wind speeds and can handle more variation in the wind speed. The smaller size allows installation in places like cities and beaches where larger turbines don't fit.
These factors allowed FloDesign to get a grant from the Department of Energy, as well as funding from the well known venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield & Byers.
Another company that has developed a machine that addresses the water and energy consumption from the every day task of doing laundry. Commercial organizations like hotels, hospitals, and cleaners run tons of laundry through their machines every day. This creates a lot of wastewater and requires the use of a lot of electricity. The machines obviously use electricity but there's also a lot of power needed in order to clean the water both before and after it's used.
Now Xeros, which was spun out of the University of Leeds in Great Britain, is rolling out a commercial washing machine that trades 90 percent of the water used in traditional washers for rice sized nylon beads.
During the washing process, the beads, combined with squirts of water and detergent in a rotating drum, act as chemical magnets. They absorb dirt, grime, and soap as they tumble over the laundry. The beads are collected after the wash cycle and used hundreds of times before they are replaced.
According to the Xeros, the process they've developed cleans laundry to industry standards while cutting water used by 90 percent and energy used by 30 percent. Xeros has received funding of $3 million in public and venture capital. They hope to begin selling these units to commercial laundry clients by the end of 2010.
We hear a lot about how the push to go green will destroy jobs and kill the economy. Companies like FloDesign and Xeros show that's just not true and that the opposite is the case. These companies will create new jobs and their innovative new technologies will help address global warming.
Leave a comment