Articles by
Paul Gipe
Wanted to Buy Honeywell Windtronics 6500
By
Paul Gipe
Alan Grimsley, Director of Business Development of White Electrical is seeking to buy a Honeywell Windtronics 6500. Grimsley wants the device for experimentation.
Familiarity brings Confidence–300-Mile Day Trip in an EV on a Whim
By
Paul Gipe
My wife Nancy's friend Virginia was visiting. Virginia has a relative she hadn't seen in many years on California's central coast in Arroyo Grande. We have a friend in adjoining Grover Beach. The two coastal towns are about 150 miles from Bakersfield. Nancy asked if we could make a day-trip to the coast in our 2017 Chevy Bolt. "Sure," I said and I jumped at the chance to test the Bolt on a spontaneous day trip outside its 238-mile range.
Weird Wind Turbine Designs
By
Paul Gipe
Vaughn Nelson has pulled together some links to web pages that display either humanity's incredible ingenuity relative to wind energy, or humanity's folly, depending upon your point of view.
Montana WindJammer IV Infomercial
By
Paul Gipe
In another blast from the past, Vaughn Nelson has tracked down a promotional film (now on youtube) from August 1985 of the Windjammer IV sail wing wind turbine. Patterned after Cretan sail windmills, the Windjammer uses sails or "soft airfoils" to drive a large diameter rotor in California's Altamont Pass.
Heidelberg Motor’s VAWT Video
By
Paul Gipe
In research for his new book, Vaughn Nelson is turning up a number of fascinating videos. One he found is a video of Heidelberg Motor's H-rotor operating in Germany. The VAWT was unusual in that the H-rotor drove tthe large ring generator, seen in the video, directly via a torque tube. Later versions installed at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Koog test center placed the ring generator on the rotor hub atop a novel tripod tower. Heidelberg installed five turbines at the test site.
Optiwind Demolition–The Fate of Many Revolutionary Wind Turbines
By
Paul Gipe
In the research for his new book, Vaughn Nelson has been dredging up some amazing videos. (See Hywind Scotland Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Video.)
Wulf Small Wind Turbine Test Field Closed
By
Paul Gipe
In another sign of the times, I've closed Wulf Field and sold the property to the neighboring wind farm managed by Windstream Properties.
Hywind Scotland Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Video
By
Paul Gipe
I don't often comment or link to news about offshore wind projects or technology. There's plenty of land available for wind energy. In most cases we don't need to go offshore.
Unearthly: The Little Lake Earthquakes in the Back Country
By
Paul Gipe
It was the sound you noticed first, an unearthly rumble that grew louder but never quite reaching a crescendo as it neared you. Then the ground beneath your feet moved. The solid earth we stood on moved. The ground that we take for granted as solid as anything can ever be--moved. Then the movement and the sound died away. It was exhilarating, but also unsettling. If the earth can move like that, what can we rely on as solid, unmovable?
Avoiding Range Anxiety with an EV Road Trip Checklist
By
Paul Gipe
Drivers considering buying electric vehicles (EVs) often mention range anxiety, the perception that EVs cannot be driven long distances reliably, as a source of apprehension. One of the main reasons we’re going on an EV road trip is to bust that myth.
Cologne VAWT Captured on Grainy Cell Phone Pics
By
Paul Gipe
While deleting some old files--yes, I am one of those who deletes unnecessary files--I came across two photos I meant to post in 2018.
EVs in the Hoosier Heartland
By
Paul Gipe
As a former Hoosier and as an Electric Vehicle advocate I keep an eye on EV development in the state of Indiana. Yes, Indiana is the home of the arch-conservative vice president and former governor Mike Pence, but the red state's role in the automotive industry, and potentially in EVs, shouldn't be dismissed.
