In 2004, Shawn Frayne took a trip to a small fishing village near the cost of Petite Anse, Haiti. This village was not connected to an electrical grid, and the only lighting available was diesel-powered or kerosene-based. A member of an MIT team,Shawn realized that instead of using kerosene lamps, white LEDs powered by a very inexpensive wind generator might be able to better light homes and schools in the area. Turbine technology, however, is too inefficient at these scales to be a viable option, something Shawn discovered after trying to design this affordable, turbine-based wind generator. Under these difficult constraints of cost and local manufacture, Shawn invented the world’s first non-turbine wind generator, the Windbelt generator.
The small tabletop proof-of-concept of the world’s first membrane-based, non-turbine generator has since undergone several transformations. These include: the microBelt, the Windcell, and most recently the Windcell Panel. These new inventions are taking wind power into places and applications previously inconceivable. Shawn and his team are aiming to make the Windbelt one of the key tools of energy harvesting in the 21st century.
The Humdinger Wind Energy Team
No pain, no sale? Shawn experienced a certain pain first-hand, and addressed it. Great move. Reminds me a lot of the guy who made baby incubators from car parts. This product was going to be wildly successful from its very beginnings because it was a niche product. Great product. Great post. Great use of pictures!