plastic grass could cover buildings to produce energy from wind - energy storage solutions

James urquhart said that if you can only ride it, the wind flowing from your roof is full of energy.
A new type of wind generator is paved with plastic strips on the surface, swaying in the wind like grass, producing renewable energy in places where traditional windmills are impractical.
The generators are made by fixing flexible plastic strips on boards, so they stand upright like rows of dominoes.
On one side of the strip are etched nano wires and oxidized indium tin coatings (ITO)on the other.
When the metal strip flies in the wind, the Nano Wire hits the ITO surface of the adjacent metal strip.
This temporary contact allows electrons to jump from one material to another, generating current through a phenomenon known as the friction electric effect. Covering a 300-square-
The rice roof with stripes "is expected to provide electricity for 7.
11 KW, this should be the main driving force for a family, "said Yang Weiqing of Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, China.
Yang worked on the project at Georgia Tech in Atlanta with Zhong Lin Wang's team.
The goal is not only to get energy from a stable wind, but also from a typical built-in gustup areas too.
"Compared with wind turbines, our triboelectric nano generators (TENG)
"It is effective to get energy from the natural wind blowing in any direction," Yang said . ".
The harvest system is simple to make and easy to scale to larger systems, he added.
So far, the generator has only been tested in the laboratory, aligning the electric fan to the model roof covering 60 bars.
This generates enough power to light up 60 LEDs.
Bars work at speeds as low as 21 kilometres per hour, but the most useful power is generated at direct winds of almost 100 km/h-or wind violence 10.
Fernando galenbeck said it was neither easy to obtain nor desirable, and he studied energy collection at the University of Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
"We got a lot of power, but we still have a long way to go to install the equipment on the roof and building walls.
Like any energy removal technology, energy storage is critical to the success of the system, allowing a variety of power generated in the breeze to be stored when needed, Galembeck said.
Yang said they are looking for a storage solution and are working on integrating nano-generators with solar panels to increase production.
Galembeck also noted that it is not a suitable material due to the poor mechanical properties, cost and toxicity of indium tin oxide.
"The concept is promising, but its implementation depends on moving to other materials," he said . ". (
Image: Oleg Moiseyenko/Getty)