Windbelt

Conventional wind turbines don’t scale down well—there’s too much friction in the gearbox and other components. So poor, remote communities don’t have any way to harness the power of the wind. Till Shawn Frayne, a 28-year-old inventor based in Mountain View, Calif., saw the need for small-scale wind power to juice LED lamps and radios in the homes of the poor. Frayne’s device, which he calls a Windbelt, is a taut membrane fitted with a pair of magnets that oscillate between metal coils. Prototypes have generated 40 milliwatts in 10-mph slivers of wind, making his device 10 to 30 times as efficient as the best microturbines. Popular mechanics has a good article about the device here.

About Cam Proctor

Cameron works diligently in this academic and personal live to build capacity within communities and people towards the mutually inclusive goals of environmental sustainability and rewarding lifestyles. An avid supporter of education, Cameron believes in Thingsaregood.com as the “missing link” between alternative news and community involvement. Integrating his knowledge into writing, he pails in comparison to other writers in the humour dimension.

Scroll To Top