Renewable ENERGY

It’s an expert estimation that the total energy stored in wind is 100 times higher than actually needed by humans on this earth. The catch is that we have to learn and devise ways to trap this wind power blowing across the planet earth. Experts tell us one more thing that most of the wind energy is available at high altitude and we can’t manufacture turbines of that height.

Kite ENERGY

So we have to think of new ways to trap that wind power blowing at a significant height. Some experts estimate that the total energy contained in wind is 100 times the amount needed by everyone on the planet. However, most of this energy is at high altitudes, far beyond the reach of any wind turbine.

Now researchers want to create something like a kite that can float at a higher altitude to trap the wind energy.

The swirling kites prompt KiteGens core in motion, and the rotation activates large alternators producing a current. They also have a control system on autopilot.

The cost of the technology is US$750,000 and it won’t takes acres and acres of space like a wind farm. You can install the whole machinery within a diameter of just 100 meters. KiteGen claim that they can produce half a GW of energy, and produce it at a cost of US$2.5 per GW. Its creators, Sequoia Automation, say a 2,000 meter-version would generate 5GW of power.

Could we one day be driving cars fueled by watermelons? Researchers say that watermelon juice can be a valuable source of biofuel, as it can be efficiently fermented into ethanol. But have no fear, using watermelons for biofuel wouldn”t cut into the amount of watermelons available for the public to eat. This research evaluated the biofuel potential of juice from ””cull”” watermelons – those not sold due to cosmetic imperfections, and currently ploughed back into the field. Wayne Fish from the US Department of Agriculture said, “approximately 20% of each annual watermelon crop is left in the field because of surface blemishes or because they are misshapen. We”ve shown that the juice of these melons is a source of readily fermentable sugars, representing a heretofore untapped feedstock for ethanol biofuel production.”

The researchers conclude that a production ratio of ~0.5 g ethanol/g sugar, as measured in this study, approximately 220 L/ha of ethanol would be produced from cull watermelons.

As well as using the juice for ethanol production, either directly or as a diluent for other biofuel crops, Fish suggests that it can be a source of lycopene and L-citrulline, two ””nutraeuticals”” for which enough demand currently exists to make extraction economically worthwhile. After these compounds have been removed from the ”cull” juice, it can still be fermented into ethanol.