Solar and Wind Powered Hybrid Street Lamps

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/07/13/hybrid-wind-solar-street-lamps/

This is a very good example of designers coming up with a neat, zero energy alternative to an everyday street feature.

It’s a hybrid wind and solar powered street lamp, that looks like a piece of urban art the same time.  It uses renewable energy to provide illumination, while the same time stylishly updating an everyday object. Powered this way, the streetlight works independently of the national grid.  Between them the solar panel and wind turbine and generate up to 380 W of power.

The streetlight is designed and made by Urban Green Energy. The whole thing is fixed to a standard galvanized steel pole.  There is a choice of turbines.  Either a 300 W 2nd lowercase vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT), or a horizontal axis wind turbine.  There are two solar panels made by F3 Solar, capable of generating up to 80 W of power.

The total output is 380 W, if the sun is shining and the wind blowing.  Any excess energy is saved in a battery.  This can keep the high efficiency LEDs going through the night.
The different components can be scaled up to fit a particular project.

Urban Green Energy are believed to have signed agreement with Chinese city — not yet disclosed — to fit streets of these lights.
http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/07/13/hybrid-wind-solar-street-lamps/

• On its website, Urban Green Energy  describes itself as “a world leader in small wind energy, focused on providing high quality, high performance, products… which include vertical axis wind turbines and hybrid streetlamps.

“To date we have sold our wind turbines to more than 20 countries through our offices in New York, London, and Beijing, as well as our over 100 distributors, spread out over all continents”.