While wind power only makes up about 1% of current world power generation, it is one of the fastest-growing methods to create power. Wind power requires very little maintenance after installation, can be scaled to meet individual or community needs, and creates no emissions or by-products.

Windmills have been in use for over two thousand years, but only in the last 150 years has man harnessed the wind to create electricity. Small wind turbines brought electrification to a large section of rural America. Today many countries rely on wind, solar and other renewable energy resources for a significant fraction of their energy needs.

Creating Electricity from the Wind
The rotational motion of turbine blades driven by the wind is converted to electricity using an generator. On horizontal-axis wind turbines such as SolAir, the generator is located at the top of the Frame in line with the rotating horizontal shaft. On vertical-axis wind turbines, the generator is located at the base of the structure in line with the rotating vertical shaft. The generator uses electromagnetic induction, magnets passing over copper coils, to generate electricity, which can either be used while being produced or stored for later use. The primary source of energy loss in this configuration is friction between the motor and its drive system, which may contain a gearbox. In order to reduce friction and increase efficiency, DyoCore has developed a gear-free, filler-free motor. This unique design reduces the stress and wear on the motor’s moving parts and allows the blades to move smoother and faster at lower wind speeds with less resistance.

Power Generation and Efficiency
Wind turbines are available in small sizes from a few watts for remote on-site electricity needs, up to giant MW generators with a blade diameter of 400 ft or more. The amount of power that can be generated by a wind turbine depends on a variety of factors including wind speed, rotor size and air density (which varies with altitude). Because wind is not a constant resource, wind power generation often contains a capacity factor, usually in the range of 20-40% of the theoretical maximum. The German physicist Albert Betz calculated "that a wind turbine can extract at most 59% of the energy that would otherwise flow through the turbine's cross section", assuming a perfect and frictionless system.

Storing Electricity from Wind Turbines
Wind, despite its benefits, does not provide a constant and continuous input for electricity generation. Because of this, power generated from wind turbines must either be used immediately either locally, within a grid-tie, or stored for later use using batteries. Batteries are used frequently in Small Wind/Solar applications to capture the energy, store and release that energy on demand. SolAir incorporates a Solar film designed into the Fin assembly mounting into the SolAir Frame. This allows constant charging capability during sunlight in no-wind or low-wind conditions and the opposite – no light but wind. The intermittent nature of both wind and solar make them an ideal partner in combination for the purpose of energy collection.

Around the world billions of dollars are being invested in “green” energy technologies, but how many of these technologies are really green? If your concept of “green” has a few presidents on them, then quite a bit of these projects are very green. Investment and government checks are being written faster than they ever were back in height the dot com craze. Does that mean this bubble will too eventually pop?

If we simply spend the same amount on education of green living habits we could reduce our carbon footprint and dependency on harmful energy by over 40%! The concepts are simple yet our consumption habits are not. We would have to radically change our living environments to make any significant impact on our environment such as turning off the TV, the video games, taking cold quick showers, no heat or air-conditioning, turning off the lights when you leave a room, really recycle, buy local, ride a bike to work and sell the car, plant a garden, install 30 solar panels, etc… Some might be practical in moderation, but most are completely unrealistic in our culture.

Companies cashing the billion dollar stimulus checks, promoting products & concepts that most likely won’t make it to market until 2020 if at all, would like you to believe we can create a green planet by building acres of wind and solar farms, tapping thermal energy from the planet, harvesting wind in the stratosphere or even free-unlimited energy from a parallel universe. But when the bubble pops these concepts will be what they really are – quick ways to make money for a few individuals. 1998 Business plans are being dusted off, re-written and being submitted for a quick buck. Not a lot of new anything has been put into them. Simply change the name with something “green” in the title, add a byline “saving the planet”, and the next millionaire is made.

What accountability has been placed on these companies? Did we learn much from the dot com crash? We’re pounding hard on GM, banks and other companies that requested stimulus dollars but have we put any similar expectations on “green” funded technologies? The buzz word green is truly green, but not the green they are promoting.

No corporation is going to sell you “green”. Green is a personal responsibility, not so much for the planet because I’m quite sure it will outlive us, as the next stage in our evolution. Green is tied directly to the quality of our social & environmental growth as a society. Ending wars, starvation, and providing every human with basic freedoms, education, and a quality of life is as simple as “green” gets.

W(watt) ratings very rarely tell you how much power a turbine will produce. Most small turbines are advertised with a given W rating or output. For example, a turbine might be called 500W, 10 kW, 5 kW or 25 kW (1000 w = 1 Kw). The rating describes the rated capacity of the turbine at a particular wind speed. A 10 kW turbine might produce 10 kW at a 40 MPH wind speed. A 25 kW turbine might produce 25 kW at a 36 MPH wind speed. These numbers do not tell you how much power the turbine will produce at the average or more realistic wind speed at your location - or any location for that matter. There are few, if any, locations where small wind turbines will be installed where the average wind speed is 25 or 30 MPH. Most locations where small turbines will be installed have average wind speeds in the 4-10 MPH range.

Two 500 W turbines might also produce completely different power outputs due to the rotor diameter. One has a 4 foot diameter rotor and the other an 8 foot diameter rotor. Both have 500 W generators. The 8 foot turbine has twice the swept area of the 10 foot turbine. It will therefore produce twice the power of the smaller rotor turbine. The 500 W rating tells the prospective customer nothing about the turbine's capacity to produce electrical power.

Another factor to consider is what is considered a “Small” turbine. Most small turbines are anything but “Small” and require large mounting supports 20’ to 30’ high and could boast 10’ to 14’ diameter rotors. The start up speed for these units might be significantly above your average wind speed in your installation area.

Unfortunately, Watts is a key word in marketing a wind turbine to the general market. Some states and funding agencies require these ambiguous ratings. This only encourages manufacturers to attach large (less efficient) generators to small diameter rotors in order to secure a market and funding advantage. This practice both unfairly prejudices a particular turbine but misleads the consumer to spend more money on the wrong product for their needs.

With recent stimulus dollars will GM be positioned to finally finish what other poorly funded and under resourced companies have failed at?

GM has played in this field before with the Chevy Volt and plans on a production release in 2010. Though the Volt is only about 50% electric, it’s a step in the right direction.

With a fresh bankroll, a leaner team and tremendous motivation to “stay in business”, I would think GM is the perfect company to finally put Electric cars on the road.

Here are a few companies that are trying to get some stimulus dollars!

Electric Vehicles International (EVI)
http://www.evi-usa.com

Tesla Motors
http://www.teslamotors.com

Tesla Model S
http://www.teslamotors.com/models/index.php