While I don’t intend to make a habit of regurgitating printed or on-line news stories from other regional sources, I discovered one today that I would like to share and comment on as it further strengthens the importance of investing in regional economic growth – especially in “green” technologies. ADI Wind, an affiliate of ADI (Advanced Design Industries) in Sheffield Village, Ohio (http://www.adiwind.com) has recently received $130,000 from the Lorain County Solid Waste Management District, to help in financing the manufacture of a wind turbine gearbox prototype. This good news follows a $25,000 grant from Lorain County Community College’s Innovation Fund, awarded earlier this year – also for development of the same prototype gearbox.
This is great news that hits close to home, both literally and figuratively. Not only is ADI located about 5 miles from where I live, but they have supplied equipment to my organization for past projects that I was involved in during my role as project manager. More importantly, it is great to see a small company that has been around for roughly 50 years continue to innovate, as well as further advance green technology, a technology that has become, and may continue for some time to be vital to regional economies across the state of Ohio.
The most notable feature of ADI’s prototype wind turbine gearbox is that it will accelerate the speed in which energy is collected, thus increasing the amount of energy that can be collected. Additionally, this new design addresses common problems such as bearing failure and gear-tooth loading. Finally, ADI will use recycled titanium and steel to build the gearbox. While the use of recycled materials is important in itself, I’ve discovered that not all “green technology” products use green materials for manufacture of their products. Going forward, I can’t help but wonder if using green materials and processes to manufacture green products will become a strong competitive edge for green product manufacturers.
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