Tyler Whitaker's InfoTech » Energy http://www.tylerwhitaker.com Technology, Thoughts, & Opinions Tue, 27 Apr 2010 08:20:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Jellyfish Wind Appliance http://www.tylerwhitaker.com/2009/03/19/jellyfish-wind-appliance/ http://www.tylerwhitaker.com/2009/03/19/jellyfish-wind-appliance/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:03:57 +0000 Tyler http://www.tylerwhitaker.com/2009/03/19/jellyfish-wind-appliance/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Jellyfish Wind Appliance", url: "http://www.tylerwhitaker.com/2009/03/19/jellyfish-wind-appliance/" });]]> While surfing the web the other day I ran across a pretty innovative wind turbine from Clarian Technologies. It’s called the Jellyfish Wind Appliance. It’s quiet and affordable. Clarian hopes to mass produce them for a retail price point of $400.

I like the vertical design and the price point. Distributed power generation should play a key role in the next smart power grid. It promotes self reliance and energy conservation by reducing the power loss through transmission. While this model isn’t designed to be directly connected to the grid, I think it’s a good start and a perfect low cost addition to existing solar installations.

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]]> http://www.tylerwhitaker.com/2009/03/19/jellyfish-wind-appliance/feed/ 1 Small Distributed Nuclear Power Generation http://www.tylerwhitaker.com/2008/10/14/small-distributed-nuclear-power-generation/ http://www.tylerwhitaker.com/2008/10/14/small-distributed-nuclear-power-generation/#comments Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:25:11 +0000 Tyler http://www.tylerwhitaker.com/2008/10/14/small-distributed-nuclear-power-generation/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Small Distributed Nuclear Power Generation", url: "http://www.tylerwhitaker.com/2008/10/14/small-distributed-nuclear-power-generation/" });]]> I just read an interesting interview with John Deal, CEO of Hyperion Power Generation. Hyperion is building a nuclear reactor small enough to be shipped by train or truck but powerful enough to supply electricity to a small city. At a cost of roughly $30 million each, this reactor can supply up to 30 megawatts of usable electrical power, or enough to power 20,000 US households. The reactors life span is 8-10 years.

Just doing the math, $30 million spread over 20,000 homes, for 120 months equates to $12.50/household/month. Not bad. Not bad at all.

With all of the talk about a national energy policy during this election, its good to know at least one company is willing to push the nuclear option into the commercial market place. The next U.S. President should adopt this company and streamline the regulatory process to these into working in small towns across the nation.

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