wind energy is so prevalent in texas, that if the state were its own country, it would rank fifth in the world for wind energy with about 25 megawatts installed throughout the state according to the american wind energy association.

what’s even more impressive about wind-powered electricity in texas? in 2019, something monumental happened. the electric reliability council of texas (ercot) released their biannual report for the first half of the year and wind had surpassed coal. the difference in energy usage was small with wind coming in at 22% and coal at 21%, but wind has been growing steadily in practice and as a focus for politicians, educators, environmentalists, and local economies.

lubbock, texas, is the heart of wind research, industry, and education in the country. it’s the home of texas tech university and the national wind institute (nwi), and the university is the only one in the nation with a degree program for wind engineering. anyone that’s familiar with west texas knows that wind turbines are as plentiful as tumbleweeds and prairie dogs. new “wind farms” appear every year on the farmland surrounding small towns. these wind farms pump money into local economies and bring new life to these communities.

matt saldana is a small-town texas native and an employee of the national wind institute. saldana also is an instructor at texas tech, specializing in renewable energies, finance and economics, and project management. he has seen firsthand the changes that come with the wind industry while living in sweetwater, texas. while there, he witnessed a revival of the small town as money was brought into the community as a result of a new wind farm outside of town. saldana explained the entire process. 

when a contractor sees potential for a wind farm in an area, they go to the landowners of large farms and ranches with the request to put instruments on their land to take readings of wind speeds in the area, according to saldana. he said this stage is fully noncommittal and comes with no guaranteed compensation for the landowner. if the owner agrees to having turbines built on their property, the contracting company will begin construction.

as a thank you to the community, developers will often pay for new roads, sidewalks, or schools. in sweetwater, a new, state-of-the-art school district was built. this allowed for more money to be spent on teachers’ salaries, bringing in new faculty from the metroplex.

while the turbines are being constructed, thousands of temporary jobs are created. not only are local men and women hired to be on the construction crews, but local motels, restaurants, and gas stations see more business than they have in a long time. while they are under construction, the developers are subject to all local tax rates as well, ensuring the cities receive municipal funding. saldana said after construction, about 30 well-paying, permanent jobs are given to local residents. the landowners that have turbines on their properties receive a percentage of the revenue that each turbine produces (generally 3% to 8% depending on the specific company and production levels of each turbine, according to saldana).

“people are being allowed to keep the family farms they’ve had for generations,” saldana said.

the american farmer is in critical condition. production prices are at an all-time high, climate change is affecting growing seasons and harvesting, and trade wars with foreign countries have made it harder for many to sell what little yield they have. farm bankruptcies are up across every region of the country and the farmer suicide rate is one of the highest in the nation. saldana said that the extra revenue brought in by turbines to family farms has helped people save the land that’s been in their families for generations.

saldana said that research is being done constantly in order to push the industry forward. a few hot topics in the field include cybersecurity of turbines on the grid, finding a use for old and out of date equipment, moving into offshore capabilities, and finding a way to store renewable energy.

“renewable electricity can’t be stored,” saldana said. “finding a solution to that would be a game changer.”

saldana said despite the many positive aspects of the wind industry, there is still controversy surrounding wind turbines for people who live around them: endangering wildlife such as birds and bats, disrupting flora and fauna, and the low aesthetic value of the wind farms. he said the nwi is working on addressing these issues and that developers often work with wildlife conservation groups funding research and relocating bird species, like the lesser prairie chicken.

“there’s always going to be pushback no matter the industry,” saldana said. “(the positives) outweigh the negatives by environmental benefits and just keeping stuff in the ground.”

despite these controversies, there’s no question that renewable energy industries have earned their place in texas. wind powered energy has become a major source of power for the state and only continues to grow. wind energy allows for more assurance from blackouts, brownouts, and offers a new, clean means of electricity on the grid, ensuring a green method of urban resilience as our population spreads in urban areas; as a result, rural communities in west texas continue to thrive thanks to the economic spark this industry brings them.

ted roosevelt iv, susan eisenhower, nick akins, president and ceo of american electric power, and denise fairchild, president and ceo of emerald cities, took their seats on stage. they discussed the politics of climate change and asked: where does the responsibility lie?

in the current political age, rules and regulations on the energy sector are few and far between, so what incentive is there for energy companies to move towards a greener future?

nick akins answered by pointing out that their company shareholders care whether or not they are moving towards renewable energy, and that as a company they have a responsibility to the community.

ted roosevelt told us about barclays latest initiative to lend out green mortgages. having discovered that people who invest in green houses have better credit, barclays will be offering mortgages at a lower interest rates to owners of “green” houses, meaning newer houses that have been built from scratch to be energy efficient.

the conversation continued, interweaving ideas of nuclear energy, for which ted roosevelt and susan eisenhower were proponents, business, politics, and the future of renewable energy.

do we have the energy to lead? these panelists seemed to think we do. ​

up next: storyfest grand prize announcement >

while a report from the national renewable energy laboratory (nrel) shows wind energy is on the rise in the united states, proposed cuts to the department of energy budget cuts could deal a significant blow.

the global wind energy council released a global wind statistics report in april 2016 for wind energy by country in 2015. the report ranked the united states second in wind energy at 74,471 megawatts — behind only china. however, pushback from the house of representatives under the trump administration could cause the united states to lose that prestigious place.

thus far, attempts to undermine the budget of the department of energy have proved unsuccessful. according to a science magazine article, the house of representatives under the trump administration proposed on june 27, 2017, for the 2018 budget starting on oct. 1 to eliminate the advanced research projects agency energy (arpa-e). the proposed budget did not go through, due to a lack of support from the senate. sen. lamar alexander (r.-tenn.), who lead the senate committee on appropriations that issued the fiscal year 2018 budget, according to a science magazine article, stood up to this to say “this is not what we are going to do.”

in a bipartisan effort, the gop-controlled senate fought back against the budget the house proposed in june with a bill on july 18 to actually increase basic research funding of the arpa-e by 8%. arpa-e projects include the metacapacitors for led lighting at the city university of new york (cuny) energy institute and temperature-regulated batteries at the oak ridge national laboratory (ornl) in tennessee.

    “…that is not what we are going to do.”

while the senate has pushed back against cuts that could threaten clean energy innovation this past july, wind energy has a long way to go. the wind energy sphere is a “material intensive industry,” according to dr. stephen hsu of george washington university’s department of mechanical & aerospace engineering.

wind turbines present an issue of cost effectiveness to repair. hsu explained that, in simple terms, it’s not exactly appealing to need to fix turbines with propellers 200 to 300 feet in the air.

this means, according to hsu, one of the biggest deterrents for a business to purchase wind turbines is damage caused by the external environment.

in the early 2000’s, there was a huge push for wind turbines, and now some of those wind turbines are coming up on the expiration of their 20-year warranties. these potential repairs are a turnoff to investing in wind energy. to tackle the challenge presented by environmental and age-related damage to turbines, hsu’s lab is focusing on technology involving cell healing for blade repair.

hsu said he thought, “maybe we can make the need for repair much less,” and that would reduce the risks of purchasing owning and operating wind turbines. so, hsu created a wind energy 2022年世界杯亚洲预选赛结果 at gw’s virginia science and technology campus. his team is currently putting research efforts into microtechnology, and his lab is focusing on technology involving cell healing for blade repair.

in a 2010 gw today article, rachel muir wrote about how “many of the new materials required to revolutionize the wind turbine industry will be engineered at the nanoscales.” revolutionizing the industry will be crucial in order to get businesses on board with buying wind turbines, and self-repairing turbines could be the innovation that builds the bridge toward a cleaner future over the economic gap.

“it’s not science fiction. it is actually feasible microtechnology,” hsu said, yet “it’s kind of a risk, because it’s untested.”

“…it’s not science fiction, it is actually feasible microtechnology.”

risky though it may be, companies have shown interest in the proposal. the 11 companies of the wind energy 2022年世界杯亚洲预选赛结果 , including ari wind, generation energy, and viryd, contributed more than $1 million to support research of the technology.

however, even with corporate funding, government support remains the key factor that could make wind energy boom. katherine dykes of the national renewable energy laboratory wrote in her paper, “enabling the smart wind power plant of the future through science-based innovation,” that “the scenario we projected in the study relies on scientific innovation and thus there is a dependency on research funding.”

hsu explained how, globally, wind energy is on the rise. thus, if funding for the department of energy decreases significantly under the trump administration, then in terms of wind energy, “after four or eight years, we could be way behind europe,” he said.

nuclear physicist and former u.s. secretary of energy ernest moniz called the proposed budget “a retreat from our nation’s commitment to clean energy research,” according to a press release from the national treasury employees union from may 26 this year. he went on to say the house’s proposed budget “would put us behind china and europe, blunting our competitive edge in a multi-trillion-dollar developing clean energy global market.”

the house and the senate remain locked in conflict. while the senate voted in july on the bill to increase arpa-e funding, the house wants to get rid of the agency altogether.

 “…after four or eight years, we could be way behind europe.”

still, hsu is unswayed by the economic circumstances. “wind energy will rise,” he said. it’s not a question of whether or not wind energy will expand ahead, it’s a question of whether the united states will invest in it.

“we have a lead,” hsu said. “why waste it?”

carleton college is proud to be a second nature climate leadership award finalist for the second year in a row. through formal adoption of its statement of environmental principles, carbon neutrality value statement, and climate action plan, carleton ingrained the value of sustainability within its operations, curricular and co-curricular programs. our 2013 video submission, “clean energy in our community” highlights areas where carleton has excelled in its commitment to campus sustainability and the american college and university president’s climate commitment (acupcc).

installation of a second wind turbine in fall 2011 reduced carleton’s purchased electricity by 25% and its scope 2 emissions by 18%. carleton’s electric vehicle charging station is the first of its kind in our county. student sustainability assistants champion many campus initiatives related to waste reduction, energy conservation, and sustainable food systems—including a student organic farm which sells produce directly to the campus food service provider. and carleton’s curriculum includes a popular environmental studies major and more than thirty courses related to sustainability. carleton college is proud to model these sustainable practices in our community while preparing graduates to confront the most challenging environmental issues of our time.

there are only 3 high tolerance parts and the rest of the turbine can be fabricated from locally-sourced materials even in underdeveloped countries.

a further development of this device directly produces browns gas from deep salt water sites. this version will also bring cool water from 300ft depth to the surface 24/7/365. this will substantially cool the surface water in the local environment which will lessen the strength of hurricanes wich are powered by the high temperature of suface sea water.

i have built and run wind versions of this turbine and it is effective and simple. i believe it has immense potential.

i am a naval architect, master marine technician, and marine surveyor and i am fully at home in the working environment in which i have designed this turbine.

gearturbine project
atypical inflow thermodynamic
technology proposal submission
innovative [turbo-rotary] novel fueled motor engine type

*the gearturbine comes from the contemporary ecological essential global needs of a efficient power plant fueled motor engine.
-power thrust by bar (tube); air, sea, land and power generation, work use application.
-have the similar simple basic system of the “aelopilie” heron´s steam turbine device from alexandria, [10-70 ad] one thousand nine hundred years ago. because; the circular dynamic motion, with 2/two opposites power [polar position] lever, and is feeds from his axis center.

http://gearturbine.260mb.com

-desirable contemporary innovation, with the possible [efficient] invention. -mechanical [thermodynamic] universal human history evolution. [unlike] epic technology revelation. -next step powerplant new design form function device change.

*8-x/y thermodynamic cycle – way steps:
1)1-compression / bigger
2)2-turbo 1 cold
3)2-turbo 2 cold
4)2-combustion – circular motion flames / opposites
5)2-thrust – single turbo & planetary gears / ying yang
6)2-turbo 2 hot
7)2-turbo1 hot
8)1-turbine / bigger

*innovation technology breake barrier / paradigm [broken-seal] solution. state of the art. innovative turbo-rotary concept top system.
-with retrodynamic dextrogiro vs levogiro phenomenon effect. / rotor-rpm vs inflow / front=> to <=front; “collision-interaction type” – inflow vs blades-gear-move. technical unique dynamic inovative motion mode. [retrodynamic reaction = when the inflow have more velocity the rotor have more rpm aceleration, with high (xy position) momentum ] which the internal flow (and rotor) duplicate its speed,when activated being in a rotor (and inflow) with [inverse] opposite turns. a very strong novel concept of torque power thrust. at field explanatory example with a metaphor is like if a sailboat take the wind from his prow front to move; wind/inflow + knots/rpm + wind/inflow + knots/rpm + wind/inflow + knots/rpm + etc… = aceleration x aceleretion = exponential aceleration. whereas it has more movements forwards, it receives a frontal impulse still but to move more forwards.
-shape-mass + rotary-motion = inertia-dynamic / form-function wide [flat] cilindrical shape + positive dynamic rotary mass = continue inertia cinetic positive tendens motion / all the complete rotary motor mass weight is goin with the power thrust move circular direction.
-non-waste parasitic looses system for cooling, lubrication & combustion; -lubrication & combustion, inside a conduit radial position, out way direction, activated by centrifugal force-fueled injected. -cooling; a)in-thermomix flow, & b)out-air thermo transference.
-combustion 2two [inside-rotary-dynamic] continue circular [rockets] flames. like two dragons trying to bite the tail of the [ying yang] opposite other.
-increase the first compresion by going of flow reduction of one big circumference blades going pass to 2two reduced, very long distance (total captive compression) inflow [inside propulsion] conduits [long flow interaction] [like a digestive system] start were ends, in perfect shape balance in perfect equilibrium well balanced, like a snake bite his own tale. -4 turbos rotary [inside-rotary-active] [in-flow, out-flow] total thrust-power regeneration [complete] power system. -mechanical direct 2two [small] “planetary gears” at polar position. like the ying yang simbol/concept. wide out the rotor circumference were have much more lever [high torque] power thrust. -military benefits, no blade erosion by sand & very low heat target profile.
-3 stages of inflow turbo compression before combustion; 1)1-turbine, 2)2-turbos 3)2-turbos. -and 3 points of power thrust; 1-flow way, 2-gear, 3-turbine.

*the most innovative power plant motor engine project today. higher efficient % percentage. next trend wave toward global technological coming change.
patent; dic 1991 impi mexico #197187 – carlos barrera. – individual designer – inventor and project owner. / all rights reserved. – monterrey nl mexico.

the goal of this project is to have a cheaper and cleaner way to generate electricity, especially in developing countries and remote villages. the blades may be built from recycled plastic bags and bottles, saving the environment on through both manufacturing and use.