ENLIL Wind turbines are created by Deveci Tech from Istanbul, Turkey, dedicated to building smart and renewable cities of the future. The turbine is designed vertically with long blades. It covers less area on the ground and is easy to handle. It can easily be assembled and disassembled which makes it durable.
Solar panels are fixed at the top of the turbine to generate extra electricity. The device is capable of producing approximately 1 kilowatt per hour of electricity. A single ENLIL turbine can easily provide the average daily electricity needs of two households.
Team Earthr
Mapdwell Solar System is an online application that uses high-resolution satellite imagery and weather data to reveal the solar potential of every building rooftop in a given city or suburb.
Built on technology developed by the Mapdwell team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the company have created an online platform which generates detailed 3D solar potential models of entire cities, accounting for everything from building geometries to tree foliage. The tool processes vast datasets and complex 3D data to visualise rooftop solar potential across communities for every hour of every day, based on historical weather data.
End users in the mapped cities and suburbs simply type in their address to access detailed solar potential data for their property, including the estimated costs and benefits of going solar. Users can then custom build a solar installation on the platform, based on how much they want to spend and how much electricity they want to generate. The tool is designed to provide everyone with the facts to support solar adoption, based on a powerful and scalable platform that allows any community to discover their untapped solar resources.
Team Earthr
As part of its ‘Road to Tomorrow’ initiative, Missouri’s Department of Transportation is joining forces with an Idaho-based startup called Solar Roadways to repave with state-of-the-art solar panels. These specially engineered panels are made of tempered safety glass and are super strong — as they’d have to be to sustain constant use by heavy vehicles. Apart from the whole ‘harnessing the power of the sun’ bit, the panels also come with LED lighting, which can efficiently replace road lines and signage. Basically, they’re a badass piece of technology.
The installation will no doubt be pricey, but Solar Roadways is prepared for it — the group raised more than $2.2 million through a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. In addition to these funds, initiative leader Tom Blair received a $100,000 prototype grant from the Federal Highway Administration and two $750,000 research grants from the US Department of Transportation. The other good news is that their modular design allows for easy and cheap repairs by just swapping out broken panels for new ones. They are sustainable, ethical and eco-friendly.
Team Earthr
Architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) have designed a 3D-printed pod home that not only looks 100 percent epic, but can function entirely off the grid. The sustainable structure works in conjunction with a companion vehicle, which is also printed using 3D technology. Solar panels built into the pod’s curved pavilion-stye roof powers it by night, and the vehicle generates its own power too through a hybrid electric system. The two share their power — get this — wirelessly through a closed-loop battery system to ensure you’re not left in the dark when the sun doesn’t peek out behind those clouds.
The pod has been developed with the geniuses at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory as part of the Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy (AMIE) project. The pod, which is largest of its kind at 11.6m long, 3.7m high and 3.7m wide, has been developed with the aim to illustrate the potential of a clean energy future for a rapidly urbanising world by demonstrating the use of bidirectional wireless energy technology and high performance materials to achieve independence from the power grid at peak-demand times.
Team Earthr
In July 2015, the District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Iberdrola Renewables, LLC that will supply 35 percent of the District government’s electricity with wind power. This PPA was the largest wind power deal of its kind ever entered into by an American city, and is projected to save District taxpayers $45 million over the next 20 years.
Directly sourcing renewable power costs 30 percent less than fossil fuel-based sources, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 100,000 tons, and protects the city from volatile energy price increases. Over its 20-year span, this deal removes the same amount of carbon from our atmosphere as planting 44 million trees, or removing 18,000 cars from the road every year.
Since 2012, the District government has purchased 100 percent green power via Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). RECs ensure that green power is produced from renewable sources in an amount equivalent to the electricity the District government consumes. Under the new wind PPA, the District will directly receive wind power for 35 percent of its electricity demand. The District government will continue to use RECs for the remainder of its electricity needs, ensuring that 100 percent of the District’s electricity consumption remains emission-free.