“More than 200 local authorities had expressed an interest in ordering the 36,000 euros-ramps to power their traffic lights and road signs,” Peter Hughes said. His order book is full. 2,000 units should be sold next year. He should create 300 jobs in Somerset this year.
But who is Mr. Peter Hughes?
Creator. Mr Hughes is 70-years-old mechanical engineer. He lives in Dorset, UK and has spent ten years of his life as a United Nations adviser on renewable energy. And above all, he invented a road ramp that converts the celerity of passing cars into electricity. The heavier a vehicle runs over the ramp, the more power it can generate. From 5 to 50kW ― far more productive than the 2kW nominal capacity of the WindWall turbine for example ― for 20 pennies a kWH, much less than the break-even price for wind.
“The ramp is silent in operation, causes no discomfort to the vehicles occupants and is entirely safe in operation,” Mr Hughes assured on his company website. It took him 12 years of secret tests to improve his invention up to a production level.
Cocreation. The electro-kinetic road ramps would probably be situated in car parks or in parts of the roadway or downhill gradients, where vehicles are having to slow down. Arriving in those emplacements, drivers use their breaks and the kinetic energy of the car will turn mainly into heat. Putting them in these situation won’t make the ramp steal “pennies from cars petrol tank,” affirmed Mr. Hughes in his FAQ.
The first models should appear in the middle of 2006. I think this kind of inventions just need more exposure to become casual road equipments.
Tags: car ramp generator peter hughes peter+hughes design invention innovation idea creation green environment friendly ecofriendly eco+friendly uk united+kingdom unitedkingdom unitednations united+nations dorset local parking parking+lot somerset renewable energy windwall turbine wind windmill cocreation electro kinetic road petrol tank gas equipment bbc 2006
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