Inventor makes "Wind Belt" Generator, 10-30X More Efficient Than Microturbines

Shawn Frayne, a 28 year old Californian inventor, has discovered a way to generate efficient power from the wind-generated vibrations. It seems that he was inspired by the collapse of the famous Tacoma Narrows bridge, or "galloping Gertie", in 1940. Wind flowing over a stretched mylar band produces similar vibrations, and by attaching a small magnet on either end that interact with copper coils, power is generated that is supposedly 10-30 times more efficient than the best microturbines! Here is the Popular Mechanics page with a video.

This represents a truly innovative solution to sustainable power generation. If we can encourage research and development and then encourage adoption and use of these types of efficient, small-scale power sources, our coal-fired and nuclear power plants will be things of the past.

How about a clean energy X-Prize? Any uber-rich supporter? Sir Branson?

via Gizmodo via Gadget Lab via Make via Popular Mechanics