Important Innovations

Green Tech Investments Up 28% in US 2019, a Record Source:  Wind, Solar Energy Stock Image Wind and Solar Lead the Way Despite the Trump Administration's views on Climate Change and renewable energy, US companies broke records in their investments in green technology in 2019.  Investments hit $55.5 billion, which is up 28%.  That catapulted the US to second place in renewable energy investments behind China, whose financial bet on renewables fell 8% to $83 billion. Clearly, China remains the far ahead leader in pushing renewables.  Europe's renewable energy investments fell 7% to $54 billion, right behind the US. Interestingly, Brazil's financial investment soared by 74% to $6.5 billion.  The data was collected by Bloomberg. New Green Energy Technologies The big investment push in the US for new renewable energy technologies and expansions is by wind and solar energy companies.  They're rushing to qualify for federal tax credit that end later this year.  The

Innovative Technological Solution to Storing Renewable Energy 24/7 Availability of Wind and Solar Energy Swiss energy storage company Energy Vault has received a $110 million investment from SoftBank's Vision Fund to enable it to take its unique storage technology global.  The biggest challenge facing the renewable energy industry is storage because of the intermittent and unpredictable nature of wind and solar power.  Energy Vault says its technology enables cheap and efficient storage of wind and solar power and the capacity to deliver it 24/7.  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: Enery Vault's Energy Storage Innovation : SoftBank's Vision Fund Investing Big in the Swiss Startup Source:  Solar Vault computer rendering Storing Solar and Wind Energy f...

For Runners:  New Tech for Wind Conditions Source: Styrd  Meter Pod Power Meter Measures Environment During Your Run For runners, wind, rain, heat and other environmental conditions make a big difference in your run.  So this new, real-time monitor is of interest.  It's called the Stryd power meter to monitor conditions for your every stride.  It's a pod that attaches to the laces of your running shoes.  The sensors tell you how the wind is impacting your running.  It also includes the impact of other environmental conditions while you are running like temperature and humidity. Real-Time Data and For Later Review The data is stored onboard, transmits in real-time and for later reviews.  The new Stryd has a better air flow design that can measure wind speeds and tells you if you're running into a head wind or not. This new invention lets you know with accuracy how you are running against real-time environmental conditions.  It's brings a brand new accurate mean

New Innovation - Floating Forests Protecting Vulnerable Coastlines Source: University of Queensland Dissipating Wind and Wave Damage This is new innovation from Australia designed to protect coastline areas from wind and wave damage during natural disasters like hurricanes.  Civil engineers at the University of Queensland have designed and patented what they call "Floating Forests".  The structure is a floating concrete breakwater topped with a windbreaker.  The breakwater dissipates the energy of the oncoming waves and the windbreaker of "trees" is composed of 65 foot tall tubes of concrete and plastic that reduce the force of the wind.  The structure is a half mile long and is specifically designed for coastal areas that get hard hit by hurricanes/cyclones.  For more details, go to my fellow journalist Ed Kane's blog at  Important Innovations Collection: Floating 'Forests' Protecting Shores : New Innovation from Australia Source:  Universi

Denmark's Vestas Launches New Turbine in US Market Blowing in the Wind Vestas has launched a new wind turbine targeting the US market.  It's designed to simplify how turbines are built and cut costs for the renewable source of energy. 30% More Energy The turbine produced by the Copenhagen based company has a 138 meter rotor diameter, which is the industry's largest.  The company expects it will produce 30% more energy then previous models. Modular Design The new turbine is a modular design to enable more customized turbines to be produced without increasing the number of components.  The new V138 turbine can be sold globally but it's particularly well suited to the US where many locations have capacity restrictions on how many megawatts can be installed and fed into the local grid.  Vestas just announced the new V138 turbine today.

Massachusetts' Brayton Point Power Station Towers Demolished in 2 Seconds Source: Stock Image of Brayton Point, MA. New Wind Energy Coming to Replace Coal Fired Plants Brayton Point in Somerset, Massachusetts on Mount Hope Bay was the last coal-fired generating plant in MA.  It stopped production in 2017 as environmental groups pushed for cleaner sources of energy generation. Landmark to Old Energy Demolished Today its two, 500 foot cooling towers were demolished by controlled explosions in two seconds. The plant had burned coal since 1963. Anyone who has travelled the I-195 corridor through Fall River, MA over the Braga Bridge going to Cape Cod or south to New York City is very familiar with these landmarks of old energy. They are now gone and are making way for new energy systems like wind. New Base of Wind Energy The new owner of the property is Commercial Development Co.  They say they plan to convert the property into a multi-use facility, primarily to support

Wind Power to Power Heating Source:  China Wind Farm World Leader in Wind Power China is waging a multifaceted flight against carbon dioxide pollution.  It's pushing hard to cut carbon emissions from coal burning generating plants.  China is already the world leader in wind power generation with the largest installed capacity and rapid growth in new wind facilities. It's now promoting wind powered heating systems. Wind Powered Heat China just announced it will forward and promote using energy generated by the wind to help power heating systems.  Many regions in China experience bitterly cold winters and coal powered generating facilities spewing carbon emissions are big contributors to China's pollution problems.  China's top steelmaking city Tangshan just issued a smog alert as waves of smog are enveloping the city. Huge Wind Potential Experts say because of China's long coastline and land mass, it has about 2.4 gigawatts of exploitable wind power

New Drone with Autonomous Flexible Wings Source:  Purdue University Flies Against the Wind Purdue University roboticists have developed and patented a new, advanced drone with foldable wings.  The wings are designed on the flight patterns and wings of insects.  Unlike other drones with fixed wings, this new invention can withstand high wind conditions.  It's also more energy efficient and can carry heavy loads.  For a news blog with more details, go to  https://importantinnovationscollection.blogspot.com/2019/04/new-drone-with-foldable-wings.html Innovations Collection: New Drone with Foldable Wings : Autonomous Wings to Withstand the Wind Source:  Purdue University Inspired by Insects Roboticists at Purdue University have develope...

New Innovation to Forward Constant Use of Green Energy Source:  Vattenfall Salt-Based Storage Tech for Wind and Solar Power The main disadvantage of wind and solar power is their intermittent stop and start nature.  SaltX of Sweden has a new technology solution.  It's a salt based power storage system that Vattenfall, the Swedish power producer, is putting to an industrial level test.  If this works, it could make wind and solar energy more constantly available for our use.  The test is based in Berlin and goes through the summer.  For more details, go to Important Innovations Collection: Making Green Energy More Constantly Useable : Renewable Energy Innovation from Sweden New Salt-Based Storage Technology System For Green Energy Vattenfall is a Swedish power produc...

Wind Power For Houses Source:  Semtive Nemoi Wind Turbines New, Small, Noiseless Wind Turbines The renewable energy technology has been developed by a team of Argentines.  It's called Semtive Nemoi Wind Turbine and it delivers electricity from the kinetic energy of the wind into the home. Semtive Nemoi just opened a US headquarters in Silicon Valley, CA and they are rolling out their wind technology across the US.  The system has been cited as one of the top inventions of 2018.  For a new blog from my journalist colleague Ed Kane, go to Important Innovations Collection: Wind Powered Homes : New Renewable Energy Source for Residences Source: Semtive Nemoi Wind Turbine New Wind Power System It's the Semtive Nemoi W...

European Satellite to Improve Global Weather Forecasts Source:  European Space Agency - Aeolus  Aeolus the Wind Chaser The European Space Agency has just launched the world's first wind mapping satellite.  It's called Aeolus.  It's the first to measure wind direction and speeds all over the world. Better Weather Aeolus'  global wind tracking will allow scientists to provide better worldwide weather forecasts.  This is the 1st time global wind speeds and directions have been monitored 24/7 from space. Blowing in the Wind Until now data on air movement has been gathered largely from the ground or indirectly thru observations from planes or space.  Aeolus is equipped with lidar that sends powerful ultraviolet laser light into the atmosphere.  It then observes which way the light scatters when they bounce off tiny particles in the air.  By comparing wavelengths of the light when it goes out and returns, scientists can determine which way the winds are blowing.