Inhabitat's Week for Green: Wind Farms and Algae Power as well as an Airplane Made From Hemp
Inhabitat's guests review the week's top green innovations and news on clean technology each week. It's called the Week In Green.
Highways are huge, dark surfaces that soak in lots of sun. It would make more sense to make them solar-powered. Designer Daan Roosegaarde had this idea and it's now an actuality. Heijmans Infrastructure and Roosegaarde teamed together to install solar-powered glowing lines along a Dutch highway. It was a great success and is expected to be extended to other regions of the country. Masdar is also building a 50 megawatt windfarm for the Sultanate of Oman. It will be the largest in the Gulf states region. The wind farm will generate enough clean energy to power 16,000 homes and prevent 110,000 tonnes (121.254 tons) of carbon dioxide being burned annually. In the UK, Primrose Solar is joining forces with Solarcentury to build a 48 megawatt solar farm in Portsmouth. They are hoping to make it the most eco-friendly ground-mounted solar farm in the world. Are you thinking that algae is just green slime. You're wrong This natural resource can power everything from lightbulbs to an entire city. Here's a roundup of the most impressive algae-powered designs that could change the world.
A few years ago BMW, Daimler and scientists at the Technische Universitat Munchen announced plans to work together to create an affordable and safe electric car. Teamextrememc The Visio.M is a small two-seater electric vehicle that weighs in around 900 pounds . It's scheduled to be presented to the public at the eCarTec trade fair in Munich. Inhabitat was also one of the two teams who completed the challenge to drive 834 mph with one tank of diesel fuel in the 2015 Audi A3 TDI. This proved that it was possible to travel from Albuquerque, New Mexico to San Diego without having to refill the tank. According to a couple from California the first hoverboard in the world is here. They claim to have invented an electric hoverboard that utilizes electromagnetics to hover about one inch above the ground. For urban commuters, Vello Bike has designed a high-performance folding bike that requires just a single kick to fold it and roll it into place, which means it's possible to take the bike on public transit or store it with minimal hassle. Hempearth, an Canadian company, is working on the world's first plane made from hemp. The plane is scheduled to be ready for flight by the end of next year.
3D printing has a lot of promise for the design world, but it also presents some challenges for law enforcement, because it could enable users to make their own guns at home. A 28-year-old Japanese man became the first person to be sent to jail for 3D printing after he was found guilty of creating two guns at home and distributing the video of others on how to make the same. And Inhabitat was on the scene when New York City held its first ever getgeeked conference last week. From 3D-printing pens to tablets with their own built-in projectors, check out some of the most useful tech innovations that were on display.
3D printing is already well-established in the fields aerospace and medical technology, but it's only just getting started to be utilized as a viable method of construction. The World's Advanced Saving Project presented an portable 3D printer that can create homes from clay fibers, mud, and mud at Maker Faire Rome. The group plans to make the technology available to the most remote areas of the world. Design duo Micaela Collella and Maurizio Barbario have created plans for a prefabricated wood home. The foundation is made of a new steel and can be completely recycled. Philippe Starck, a French designer, recently joined together to construct a brand-new solar- and wind-powered home. The two-story home generates 50 percent more energy than it consumes.
Many of our readers are designing costumes for their kids for Halloween. But few can match this incredible dad's glowing LED stick figure costume that makes Zoey appear like a glowing Minnie Mouse. If you're still stuck for Halloween costumes and are looking for something a bit more tech-y take a look at our fantastic photos of human iPhones, Androids and robots as well as Minecraft characters here.