Friday October 28th, Emil Jacob: Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Emil Jacobs, President of WindRays Energy of the Greentown Labs in Somerville will meet with us to speak about Vertical Axis Wind Turbine technology. WindRays Energy is developing a new design that addresses the main challenges facing the wind energy market by capturing the advantages of vertical axis windmills and merging with solar energy. The WindRays model enables implementation in densely populated areas, lowering visual impact, noise, harm to birds and providing other benefits not available in the market today. A number of break-through designs address the shortcomings of vertical axis windmills, such as structural stability and limited energy capture resulting in a model that is scalable and significantly more effective than conventional, horizontal axis windmills. Additionally, the incorporation of solar disks makes possible a total energy relative to cost more effective than conventional windmills.

Emil is a design innovator who has focused on developing solutions that improve the human condition and restore the planet profitably. He grew up in a small town in Romania in the 70s and 80s with a strong passion for design innovations that address the most pressing problems related to climate change and human health and well-being in ways that are profitable and market driven. He earned a B.A. in Economics, Minor in English Literature at the University of Toronto and a Masters in Design for Human Health from Boston Architectural College.

The following links provide perspective on WindRays technology:

• https://www.civilengineering-digital.com/civilengineering-alt/january_2019-alt/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1457388#articleId1457388
• https://climate.mit.edu/posts/climate-colab-winners-spotlight-colab-spotlight-emil-jacob-alex-sludds-timothy-robertson

Friday October 14th, 2022 Electric Vehicles, Part 1

Electric Vehicles

This meeting is in two parts: on October 14th John Brown, Walter Hubbard, Hugh Wright, Bob Muise will have some comments on their Electric Vehicle Experience and then field questions from our crew. On the following morning, 15 October at 10:30 am, we will continue with a Show and Tell in the Jenks Parking Lot, so that you might have a hands-on look at some EV s and PHEVs. Earlier this Fall, Jeff Hecht spoke with us about autonomous vehicles and spoke about the vision of urban environmentalists who see a path to a future of all-electric zero-emission cars, some of which may be self-driving. While public acceptance of self-driving cars remains unclear, public acceptance of electric vehicles is growing. This session is intended to give us an opportunity to hear from people from our crew who have experience with EVs.

Walter has suggested that the following links may be of interest to our members:

• Why Hybrid Vehicles Are a Smart Choice Right Now (msn.com)
• EVs and Plug-In Hybrids That Qualify for Tax Credits - Consumer Reports
• Alternative Fuels Data Center: Electric Vehicles with Final Assembly in North America (energy.gov)

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Additional resources:

PHEV information:  (Bob)

PHEV information: (Hugh)

Links from Walter:
Life cycle carbon emissions: https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/electric-vehicle-myths#Myth5
Electric Grid: ISO New England (iso-ne.com)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Lithium recycling
Solving EV's Biggest Problem - Battery Recycling Explained - YouTube
How Tesla’s Battery Mastermind Is Tackling EV's Biggest Problem - YouTube

Environmental concerns
Are Electric Cars Worse For The Environment? Myth Busted - YouTube