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Dutch scientists develop kite power system with enough juice for 10 homes
Sure, the Netherlands might be known for its windmills, but a group of scientists at the Delft University of Technology is aiming to harness the wind in a different way: by using kites to generate electricity. A recent test generated 10 kilowatts, or enough juice to power 10 homes, and the plan is to eventually send an array of kites called the Laddermill up to 30,000 feet in order to generate nearly 10 megawatts of power. Of course, that's all in the future -- for now, we've just got two dudes, a kite, and a pretty dry video after the break.[Via Inhabitat]
Loopwing toy car runs on wind power
We're big fans of both alt-power and silly toys, so Tamiya's latest kitcar, the Loopwing, pushes all our geek buttons. The build-it-yourself kit car comes with its own windmill, and five minutes of charging in a five mile wind powers the three-wheeled racer for three and a half minutes. We have fond memories of building a Tamiya RC10 kit when we were kids -- hopefully the $30 Loopwing will inspire kids to think about windpower the same way our kit inspired us to think about taking apart everything we owned.[Via TokyoMango]
