Educational Technology

Plans for a controversial wind turbine proposed for the Asda car park in Kirkcaldy are now available for public viewing.

The company has applied for permission to construct a 60 foot turbine next to the petrol station on Carberry Road.

The store is to hold a display in-store to allow local residents to see more information on the plans.

The turbine is part of the company’s programme to cut carbon emissions but residents are concerned that the structure will cause noise pollution.

Asda property communications manager Lisa Rooke told Fife Today: “We are extremely committed to implementing measures that reduce our impact on the environment, reduce our carbon emissions and improve the energy efficiency of our stores.

“We are pleased to announce this public display for our renewable energy proposals for the Kirkcaldy store. We value this feedback and hope that local residents will take the time to come and learn more about our proposals.

“Leaflets and images will be available and Asda representatives will be available on the day to answer any questions that people may have.”

The turbine would be able to create enough energy to power half the store’s checkout systems.

Despite residents initial worries only two objections have been lodged on-line to the construction.

(stv.tv local news)

Horizon Announces Commercial Operation of Three Wind Farms - Houston, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

Horizon Wind Energy, owned by EDP Renovaveis, fully commissioned more than 500 megawatts (MW) of wind energy projects in December of 2008. The 201-MW Meridian Way Wind Farm located in north central Kansas, the 102.9-MW Rattlesnake Road Wind Farm located in Oregon, and the first phase (201.3 MW) of the Pioneer Prairie Wind Farm located in Iowa, are now fully operational.

The American Wind Energy Association ranked Oregon number seven in wind power in the United States with more than 900 megawatts installed.

Welcome to The Green Energy Machine
The Green Energy Machine is an amazing and unusual tool for teachers to use and we’re sure you ‘ve got a load of questions to ask.

We’ve tried to anticipate them all, but we realize that’s an impossible task. As you go through the web site, remember the unanswered questions you have because we want you to Contact Us on 0844 3579711.

What is The Green Energy Machine?

The Green Energy Machine is a dynamic, easy-to-use portable tool that makes the teaching of alternate energy sources vital and exciting. For the cost of about two or three school laptop computers, the science department and others can have hands-on experiences with both solar and wind power.

The Green Energy Machine is sized so conveniently it is easy to move from classroom to classroom. An entire department or even a consortium of schools/colleges can use just one machine.

What’s Included in the Package?

The Green Energy Machine includes a 35 watt solar cell, a 400 watt wind turbine, a sealed rechargeable battery, an AC inverter, a voltmeter and separate amp meters. It produces 5 amps at 110 volts AC when fully charged.

Photovoltaic Cell

 Self-regulating, 25 year warranty 

     Dimensions 25.7” X 18.5” 

     Cell is mounted with predrilled holes for angles 30, 35 & 40.

       Air 403 wind generator

       Rotor diameter 46”, weight 13 lbs

       Startup speed 7 mph, voltage 12 volts

       Rated output 400watts at 28 mph

       Self regulating

        500 watt inverter/ battery charger

        Peak power output 500 watts

       Output power surge 700 watts

       Output power continuous - more than 400 watts

       Output wave form - modified sine wave 

       Efficiency 90%

       Number of AC outlets - 2

       Can be stored in horizontal or vertical position

       12 volts, 55amp hour

       Sealed lead acid rechargeable battery

       1 volt meter for system voltage

       Separate amp meters for PV cell and wind turbine

       Assembled Components

For enquiries on how to purchase and operate a
Solar Hydrogen education kit, please contact us on
0844 3579711

or send an email to edtec@edtec.info

Renewable Energy Science Education Set

The Renewable Energy Science Education Set is a modular experiment set designed to demonstrate the workings of a complete clean energy technology system on a miniature scale. With this kit, an entire miniature renewable energy system can be constructed on a lab-scale. This set includes a wind turbine kit, a solar photovoltaic panel, an electrolyzer, a PEM fuel cell, and hydrogen storage system encouraging users to learn the system step by step, configure the system in different ways, and visualize the workings of clean energy principles from start to finish.

For enquiries on how to purchase and operate a
Renewable energy education set, please contact us on
0844 3579711

or send an email to edtec@edtec.info

Wind Power

The UK’s position in the world makes it one of the best locations for using renewable energy – we certainly get wind and occasionally some sun! In fact, in Europe, we get the most suitable weather for renewable energy systems to work.

Wind farms

The most common way of getting energy from the wind is through setting up ‘Wind farms’. The first wind farm was set up in November 1991. In March 2004 there were 1,043 wind turbines in operation at 84 sites around the UK, providing 649.4 MW or 0.3-0.4% of the UK’s electricity supply. There are also two offshore wind farms at Blyth Offshore (4MW) and North Hoyle (60 MW).

When they were first introduced they were very expensive, however over the years, initial costs have fallen, and therefore the cost of getting electricity from the wind has dropped considerably.

The government, along with others around the globe have introduced initiatives and proposals to ensure more of our energy comes from environmentally friendly resources.

According to the British Wind Energy Association, BWEA, there now exists primary legislation to ensure that 10% of our renewable energy (3% of our electricity) will come from wind power by 2010 and 15% by 2015.

How they work

Wind turbines generally have 3 blades and they rotate at 10-30 revolutions per minute. The blades face into the wind, the wind forces them to go round, which then spins a shaft inside the turbine, which is connected to a generator which produces the electricity.

The advantages

Wind power enables electricity to be produced in an environmentally friendly way – the turbines don’t produce chemical or radioactive emissions.

The ground on which the turbines are positioned can still be used for agricultural purposes – such as sheep grazing.

If the turbines need to be taken down, there is no damage to the environment and no residues are left behind.

The disadvantages

There are concerns from some people who are worried about wind farms being positioned in their area. The main worries are that they ruin the landscape – because they generally have to be positioned on hills to get the maximum benefits of the wind.

Wind farms also take up much more space to produce the same amount of energy as other methods such coal-fire powered stations.

Wind farms can be costly to maintain and electricity produced by this method is more expensive than that produced by other means. There are arguments that the money would be better put into energy conservation.

The noise generated from wind turbines has been criticised by some people who live very close to the wind farms.

The turbines can cause some slight electromagnetic interference, which can cause interference with television signals and some communications equipment, although this is thought now to be negligible.

The future

Certainly the number of wind farms in the UK is steadily increasing and as this industry grows, prices of generating electricity in this way should fall.

The initial costs of setting these kinds of farms up is the main obstacle at the moment, but as the need to use more environmentally friendly methods of electricity production increases, this could be an avenue to explore.