Due: Tuesday before 8:30 a.m.
1. Watch the TED Talk video on High-Altitude Wind Energy and take notes.
Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/saul_griffith_on_kites_as_the_future_of_renewable_energy
2. Answer the following questions in paragraph form (350-400 words) by typing your response in the comments section below.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
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b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
You will be marked on the quality of your response and your response to others:
9-10: Excellent and insightful; response shows superb understanding and critical analysis; contains great details and responds to complex ideas
7-8: Good; response shows thoughtful understanding; contains good details and responds to ideas
5-6: Satisfactory; response shows a basic understanding; contains basic details and responds only to major ideas
3-4: Unsatisfactory; response shows some misunderstanding; contains insufficient details and does not fully respond to the main ideas
1-2: Poor; response shows poor understanding; contains no details and does not respond to the task
EAP 300 
a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful in the future. In this video he talks about the possibility of generating electricity using kites to generate wind, and he and his project team have already developed a system to generate electricity using kites and have successfully generated 10 kW of electricity. For his idea to be successful, it is necessary to improve the altitude at which the kite can fly. The turbines used in wind power are around 300 feet high. In addition, he said, the higher the altitude, the stronger the wind and the more electricity is generated, he said. However, current technology is not able to reach the altitude he wants. If his idea comes to fruition, people will be able to use electricity made with more renewable energy. In other words, it reduces CO2 emissions and also prevents global warming. Therefore, I hope that his project will be successful and generate a sufficient amount of electricity in the future.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Japan has seven types of renewable energy. They are solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, solar thermal, atmospheric heat, geothermal, and biomass. According to Shusaku Miyaji, Japan ranks fifth in the world in terms of electricity generated from renewable energy, excluding hydropower. Among them, Japan generates the most electricity from solar power. In 2011, solar power generation was 4.84 terawatt-hours, but in 2022, it was 106.1 terawatt-hours. On the other hand, Japan still generates a lot of electricity from coal, oil, and gas-fired power generation. However, Japan is also concerned about global warming and aims to achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2050. As I mentioned earlier in the solar power generation example, technology is evolving, and renewable energy plants are being installed more and more. So, like Saul Griffith’s idea, it can be eco-friendly and generate more electricity. Or, I expect that technology will evolve further and we will be able to reach the goal of our goal.
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Thank you for sharing your idea. Although I don’t think this idea will be succeed, I still hope that his project will be successful.Then we can have more renewable energy.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion. I agree with your opinion. To achieve complete carbon neutrality, Japan should install more renewable energy instead of coal, oil, and nuclear.
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Hi, Yamato 🙂 Thank you for sharing your opinion.
I agree with some part of your opinion like reducing CO2 emissions. However, I think his idea has some serious problems. Like wind generators, their invention and technology can be harmful to bird. One of the normal wind generator’s problems is that it can kill birds through its turbines. Likewise, his invention can also cause some problems in bird’s life circumstance.
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(a) I believe his idea will be successful and his idea may be able to solve several problems are caused by lack of resources. His idea is creating kites, and there use more wind to generate electricity than normal wind power generators. He said there is more wind at high altitudes, but human can’t really go a lot higher. They can now span up to three hundred feet at the hub height. Moreover, wind is the second largest renewable energy resource after solar. Most of the energy is in the higher altitudes, above 300 feet, where we don’t have a technology yet to get there. However, it is often pointed out that creating new idea is audacious. In particular, almost people laughed when Steve Jobs said he would put a camera in his cell phone, but iPhone which equipped with camera is most famous cellphone in the world now. In addition, the first manned flight lasted only 12 seconds, but now, we can go anywhere by airplane even the other side of the earth. That is why I believe his invention will prevail all over the world and solve world problems about lack of resources.
(b) Japan has been pursuing renewable energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and concerns about environmental after the disaster of Fukushima in 2011. I am going to introduce the example of renewable energy in Japan. According to 2022 Share of Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources in Japan (2023), renewable energy accounts for 22% of Japan’s energy, and solar power generation is the highest among renewable energy at 10%, second 7% of Hydro, and third 4.6% of Biomass. Especially, the solar energy is a significant source of renewable energy in Japan. The country has promoted solar energy through various incentives, including feed-in tariffs, which guarantee fixed prices for solar generated electricity. Japan has a substantial number of solar installations, both residential and commercial. However, if they want to have a lot of power, we have to prepare a lot of space to install solar panels, and the initial cost is expensive. Solar energy is the most popular renewable energy in Japan, but we have to find resolution about negative effect.
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Hi Kanji! Thank you for sharing your idea. About negative aspects of his new ideas of wind power, we have the same idea! A new idea always tends to be received as a suspicious thing. In order to introduce a new idea into an industry, it is important to convince that the new idea is more helpful for our world.
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* a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I think Sail Griffith’s idea will be successful. It is because his idea is created by many evidences and histories. His idea is based on kites. From long time ago people have known kites have power of carrying weight. All of the great inventors of the time, Hargreaves, Langley and Alexander Graham Bell, who was flying this kite, were doing so in the pursuit of aviation in 1827. Orville and Wilbur Wright, and the Wright Flyer would ultimately enable powered human flight. And their experiments with kites made big results. He actually experiment with generating about 10 kilowatts, enough to power probably five United States households. And his experiment has the real significant developing the control systems for long-duration flight. And he is working towards megawatt-scale machines that fly at 2000 feet and generate tons of clean electricity. One of his experiment is successful so his new idea will also be successful.
* b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Japan use renewable energy such as solar power, thermal power, biomass power, geothermal power and wind power. In 2011, Japan was attacked a big earthquake and nuclear power plant was broken. People who live near the place cannot have lived own native place even now because of nuclear. After this accident, people are afraid of nuclear power generation. By 2011, Japan rely on nuclear power generation and thermal power. However, after the earthquake, Japan change trying to rely on renewable energy instead of nuclear power generation as much as possible. It is good for Japan and world. However, even though Japan change to renewable energy, other country use more renewable energy. Japan is changing but we need more effort to be an eco friendly country.
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Thank you for sharing your idea. I agree with you. Japan should make more effort to generate energy with renewable resources.
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I disagree with his idea because if he cannot develop his invention, his idea will not be successful even though kites have a great history and have contributed development of technology. His idea is still developing, so, the possibility of being failed is very high.
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I disagree with his idea because if he cannot develop his idea, he will not be successful even though kites have been contributing to the development of technology. His idea is still developing, so the possibility of being failed is very high.
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a) In my opinion, his idea will be successful and his invention will be helpful for changing problems that have occurred recently. If this machine can be invented, we can obtain more wind power than previous wind power systems. In his presentation, he explained how to get powers by using wind. Historically, Miles Lloyd wrote a seminal paper about how to use an airplane on a piece of string to generate enormous amounts of electricity. Griffith used this method and this system can make more energy than any other new clean energy. Wind is the second-largest renewable energy after solar so it is a sufficient way to generate energy. Moreover, this kite is not much larger than the piano, even if there is no space to install it, this equipment can work. However, they need to make a robot to make this and it will take more than thousands of hours. It is tough to make this machine a reality because it takes a lot of time even to make one. It is harder and inefficient than making other equipment such as solar panels, dams, and so on. To make it a reality, they need to improve their product and further reduce costs.
ｂ） Various renewable energy sources have been used in Japan, including solar, wind, geothermal, and so on. Particularly, solar energy is the most widely used renewable energy resource. Recently, more and more solar systems have been installed in Japan. Moreover, a solar system can be easily installed in private homes, and even homes can generate their own electricity, so many people, including my own, use the electricity they generate at home or sell it to the power company. By doing so, I believe that we are leading to a gradual improvement in the current global environment. Besides, by using wealthy nature, and taking advantage of the unique characteristics of each region, they make extensive use of other renewable energy sources, including hydroelectric power and wind power. However, these days, because of extreme weather, many problems have occurred, such as the dam not being able to hold water, and equipment being destroyed by typhoons. From these aspects, Japan should think of other methods of renewable energy.
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Hi, Satsuki. Thank you for sharing your opinion and I agree with you. Renewable energy is easily affected by weather, so the disadvantage is that it cannot be supplied stably. I also think that Japan needs to continue to think about energy generation methods that are suitable for itself.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful because his explanation made sense. The population will grow more and more and humans have to generate more energy. It means humans need the new innovative way of generation energy. The positive aspect of his idea is that you can get more energy efficiently. This is because they use a free-flying wing that can fly more heigh of the sky. As he said in the video, the more height is where the more wind is and more power. Conventional fixed-wing turbines cannot reach higher than 300 feet. They are working on development of megawatt-scale machines. If they use a Cessna, they would make 230 kilowatts and if they use a Gulfstream, they generate a megawatt. In addition, if they use a 747, they can create six megawatts, and the spruce goose would be 15 megawatts. It is the mean to create a large amount energy efficiently. On the other hand, they have to make planes to generation energy. It might cost a lot to make them.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
My country, Japan, has made use of renewable energy recent years. In 2020, renewable energy sources will account for 20.8% of electricity generation in Japan. Compared to 2014, there is an increase of about 8.7% in renewable energy generation. It mainly makes use of solar power, water power, biofuels. The reason why the renewable energy increased in Japan is an accident in 2011. It caused extensive damage, including radioactive contamination. As a result, the nuclear power generation which mainly generated energy stopped at all, so the government had to use thermal power generation to cover. It was not eco-friendly because thermal power generation emits a lot of greenhouse gas even though the government promoted the movement of decreasing greenhouse gas. So, it prompted the use of renewable energy. However, there are problems to use renewable energy. Most renewable energy depend on the environmental power like solar power, wind power. These powers are not able to generate stable energy because humans cannot control them. In addition, to install facilities costs a lot. Therefore, renewable energy still cannot replace thermal power generation.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion. You mentioned the difficulty of replacing thermal power with renewable energy, and I agree with you. Renewable energy requires more costs and time than non-renewable energy.
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I disagree your answer. As you mentioned, population is getting increase so people need energy as soon as possible. As he said, higher place has bigger wind so it is better to develop wind turbine than to make new renewable energy.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I believe Saul Griffith’s idea has the potential for success. There are two main reasons why I think this way. Firstly, he has already demonstrated the viability of generating renewable energy by using kites. This success proves the effectiveness of utilizing wind power through kites. If these kites can be attached to airplanes, they have the capacity to generate a substantial amount of energy. Secondly, in the current global situation, there is a strong motivation among people to generate renewable energy to stop the accelerating global crisis of climate change. The urgency of addressing global warming has led governments worldwide to prioritize the changing to 100% renewable energy sources. The use of kites attached to airplanes presents an opportunity to generate a significant amount of renewable energy in a relatively short span of time. However, there is a negative point associated with this idea. Ensuring safety measures is necessarily. The size of these kites is big, and if they fall off from the airplane, there could be potential danger to people and buildings on the ground. Therefore, implementing strict safety measurement is crucial to the successful of this development.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Yes, Japan utilize renewable energy sources. Before 2010, the share of renewable energy was less than 10%. However, following the Great East Japan Earthquake, the government made a shift to renewable energy instead of nuclear power generation. In recent years, there has been a widespread adoption of solar energy in Japan. Many households have installed solar panels on their rooftops to generate energy. This visible shift towards solar power is a clear example of Japan’s efforts to ensure renewable energy and reduce dependence on traditional fossil fuels.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion. I agree with his idea as well. I hope his idea will actually be used. I learned that Japan is making an effort with regard to energy.
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Hi Asahi. Thank you for your opinion. Firstly, if using kites to generate energy requires lifting an airplane, the energy consumption to lift and operate the plane seems counterproductive. Furthermore, if additional kite generators are installed during airplane flights, we must ensure that it does not interfere with the original purpose, such as passenger or cargo transportation. But I still believe we can change the world and make the environment better.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects?
I think his idea is successful. He is going to create a machine that can generate renewable energy by things like kites. Fossil fuels are limited. His idea is to use wind power to generate energy. People should reduce carbon dioxide to protect our lives from climate change. There is a lot of energy potential at altitudes above 300 Feet, but the technology to reach that height is not yet available. He is planning that the machine fly at 2000 feet and generate tons of renewable energy. If it succeeds, people can get a lot of clean energy. However, there is a negative point. If it breaks in the sky, the parts of the machine fail down to the ground. It is very dangerous. So this idea has to consider about safe.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy?
In Japan, renewable energy accounts for 22.4% of total power generated. Much of it is solar power. Second one is hydro power. Third one is wind power. The Japanese government has a goal of at least 35% of total energy use to come from renewable energy by 2023. Recently, there is offshore wind power, and floating offshore wind power in Japan. Japan is surrounded by the ocean and this country is a small land area. It is optimal to place the power generation machine on the ocean. Floating offshore wind power generation means that the power generation equipment is not fixed to the bottom of the water, but floats on the surface of the water to generate power. There are positive points that these are less likely to have large wind turbines, noise, and landscape issues. On the other hand, these costs a lot. People spend money to transport equipment. Furthermore, the power is generated by the force of the wind. The strength of the wind is not constant, making it difficult to provide a stable power supply. These are currently the focus of attention and hold great promise for the spread of renewable energy.
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Hi Hiyori!
Thanks for sharing your opinion:) I didn’t know that Japanese renewable energies are accounted for 22.4% of total power generation. I hope the number will increase in the future!
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A) I believe Saul Griffith’s idea has great potential for success. Wind have huge power which is the second-largest renewable resource after solar. This scale is that 3600 terawatts, more than enough to supply humanity 200 times over.
The research on airborne technology that began with kites has led to his current groundbreaking idea. His megawatt-scale machines that fly at 2000 feet and generate tons of clean electricity. Like he demonstrated with a paper airplane, such a short flight can provide enough energy to power cellphone, and the larger the scale, the larger the potential energy source it becomes. If the new renewable resources are successful, it could be one of big solution to save environment. However, his idea also has negative aspects, for instance, it’s depends on the location. these machines would need vast areas to make them fly for a long time, so they wouldn’t perform in the cities. In addition, they have to worry about the condition of the sky. they might not encourage in bad wether, and they might hit bards, they might struggle with aircraft and the neighbourhood. but, he knows today our some invention and new ideas have been created from previous audacious, I also hope his idea would help for us to solve environmental problems.
B)In Japan, we have various renewable energies like hydroelectricity, solar power, wind power, geothermal energy, waste and biomass energy, ocean energy. According to the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies in 2022, 22.7% of the total electricity generation in Japan comes from renewable resources. In my hometown, there has been a focus on adopting solar panels, particularly. In the past, there were many fields, but the number of people engaged in agriculture has been decreasing. At the same time, these spaces have transitioned to accommodate solar panels. 9.9% of the annual electricity production comes from solar PV.(ISEP,2022) The countryside offers many suitable locations, which were previously fields, making it a good idea to increase the usage of renewable resources. But our land is not vast, so we cannot keep spreading out such a large space for solar panels. Therefore, we need to find a balance in utilizing various renewables that are suitable for each location.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I think that his idea will be successful in the future because he already has generated energy by using kites. As he said in this video, his team’s kites have the control systems and have generated about 10 kilowatts. Also, his team is working towards megawatt-scale machines that fly at 2000 feet and generate tons of clean electricity. Therefore, I think that high- altitude wind energy will be the main renewable resource in the future.
In my opinion, this power generation method has two positive aspects. One of them is that it can contribute to stopping global warming because it does not emit carbon dioxide. Another is that it can generate power at heights that cannot be reached with wind power generation. There is more wind and can generate more power as much as twice as much, as he said in this video. On the other hand, the possibility of accidents is a negative aspect. The location at heights has enormous power, so it must be durable enough without collapsing even when received to that force. Also, adjustment will be necessary to prevent accidents with aircrafts such as airplanes and helicopters flying above.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Japan makes use of renewable energy and solar energy is the largest now. Other power sources are wind, biomass, geothermal and hydropower. Although the percentage of renewable energy is increasing every year, it is less than 25 % and still low compared to other developed countries. There are some reasons. First of all, high power generation costs. It costs twice as much as in Europe. Secondly, there are limits to the space available for building power generation facilities of renewable energy because Japan is a small country. Thirdly, there is no electricity network with other countries. Renewable energy is unstable because of climate and weather. Many disasters happen in Japan. Other countries can send electricity to each other when they run out of energy, but Japan is unable due to the island. Japan has responsibility as a developed country so we need to face these challenges and continue to increase the percentage of renewable energy in the future.
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Hi Akari! Thank you for sharing your essay. I agree with your idea that Japan have to increase the percentage of renewable energy. Also, I think Japan need to have more sense of crisis about energy shortage.
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A) I believe Saul Griffith’s idea has great potential for success. Wind have huge power which is the second-largest renewable resource after solar. This scale is that 3600 terawatts, more than enough to supply humanity 200 times over. The majority of the it is in the 300 feet, where we don’t have a technology as yet to get there.
But today, the research on airborne technology that began with kites has led to his current groundbreaking idea. His megawatt-scale machines that fly at 2000 feet and generate tons of clean electricity. If his new renewable resources are successful, it could be one of big solution to save environment. Like he demonstrated with a paper airplane, such a short flight can provide enough energy to power cellphone, and the larger the scale, the larger the potential energy source it becomes. However, his idea also has negative aspects, for instance, it’s depends on the location. these machines would need vast areas to make them fly for a long time, so they wouldn’t perform in the cities. In addition, they have to worry about the condition of the sky. they might not encourage in bad wether, and they might hit bards, they might struggle with aircraft and the neighbourhood. but, he knows today our some invention and new ideas have been created from previous audacious, I also hope his idea would help for us to solve environmental problems.
B)In Japan, we have various renewable energies like hydroelectricity, solar power, wind power, geothermal energy, waste and biomass energy, ocean energy. According to the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies in 2022, 22.7% of the total electricity generation in Japan comes from renewable resources. In my hometown, there has been a focus on adopting solar panels, particularly. In the past, there were many fields, but the number of people engaged in agriculture has been decreasing. At the same time, these spaces have transitioned to accommodate solar panels. 9.9% of the annual electricity production comes from solar PV.(ISEP,2022) The countryside offers many suitable locations, which were previously fields, making it a good idea to increase the usage of renewable resources. But our land is not vast, so we cannot keep spreading out such a large space for solar panels. Therefore, we need to find a balance in utilizing various renewables that are suitable for each location.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion!
I also believe that he has a high probability of success in the future.
As he said, there have been many innovations thathave been created from audacious in history. Before the Wright brothers created flight, many people did not believe in them !
Japan and Taiwan are both located in the Pacific Rim Seismic Zone and have abundant water resources. Perhaps in addition to solar energy, Japan can also invest in hydropower!
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I think that his idea will be successful inthe future. There was enough wind power to supply humanity at heights of over 300 feet, and there was still no technology to convert it into energy ten years ago. However, if people invented the way to get huge wind power that is higher in the sky like his idea, this will be innovation on people’s lives and also help environmental prblems. In addition, compared with ten years ago, technology was advanced because of industorial revolution. Thus, it is expected much higher technology will be used for renewable energy. He has already proven the possibility of suppling windpower and its huge amount. For these reasons, I believe his idea is viable.
The positive aspects is that windpower is huge supply source of electircity and has incredible power. Any major of renewable energy may solve environmental problems in the future. On the other hand, people have not fucused on renewable energy development yet. Additionally, there are still climate crisis and energy crisis, and generation of fossil fuels are increasing.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
In Japan, the cost of solar energy is high, land use restrictions limit the potential for wind power. Solar and wind power have become much more prominent because it is often seen that people have solar pannels for each household so, solar power is more common way to generate electricity than wind power. Due to limited land, wind power is used to make generating electricity from offshore.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I think his idea will be difficult to succeed. In the video, he mentioned that a kite as big as a piano can only be used by five families. How many kites or how big kites are needed to make energy source for all over the world? If there are a large number of kites, how can they operate these kites without interfering with each other? If it is a large kite, how can it be transported to high altitudes for operation? Because it is still impossible to do it with current technology. In addition, the climate is different every day, and it is very likely to encounter Stormy weather that will cause equipment damage. Repairs will be a big problem. On the other hand, time and labor costs need to be considered. I think it is not worthwhile to develop kite power generation. So I think this idea will be difficult to succeed.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Taiwan’s renewable energy projects currently include six projects:hydropower,solar photovoltaics,wind power,geothermal energy, biomass energy and waste power generation. In 2022, renewable energy power generation in Taiwan accounts for 8.3% of total energy power generation.The earliest renewable energy used in Taiwan was hydropower, which has been used for more than 100 years. but now Taiwan’s main renewable energy source is solar power.The secondary renewable energy source is wind power. Taiwan has been developing since 2000.Due to good development conditions,Taiwan has an average of 1,800 hours of sunshine per year. In order to alleviate the crisis of global warming and energy shortage,our gournment is also actively developing other renewable energy sources such as ocean power generation.It is expected that renewable energy power generation will account for 20% of total power generation by 2025.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion! Actually, I agreed with Saul Griffith’s idea because I only thought about the advantage of this new energy; however, as you said, we have to consider about the size of kite as well as the condition of weather.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
Personally, I strongly agree with Saul Griffith’s idea, and his idea will be successful. According to him, the free-flying wing is a method of wind energy while suspended in the air. Due to the ability of catching wind at high altitudes and moving to locations with high wind speeds, the free-flying wing potentially can provide a higher power generation than traditional fixed-wing turbines. In a situation where many people in around the world still lack enough energy supply, this approach might help address these challenges.
The advantages of this power generation method are its higher power generation compared to conventional wind turbines. Secondly, it may not require a large quantities of materials like steel or blades as conventional wind turbines do because it can generate power using stuff like calm. This might make transportation and installation easier and quicker. However, this technology is new and may require some time for understanding and adoption because we have already had stable and established wind power technologies of fixed-wing turbines.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Japan has been increasing the use of renewable energy sources in recent years. Since the nuclear disaster in 2011 in Fukushima, Japan has focused on expanding the kind of energy power generation and reducing nuclear power plants. As a result, Japan has made significant efforts to introduce renewable energy. For example, Japan has a substantial solar power capacity, and the government has introduced various programs to encourage the adoption of solar energy. Wind power is another renewable energy in Japan. Since, Japan is surrounded by mountains and volcanos, Hydropower and Geothermal power are important resource of renewable energy in our country as well. Japan has increased the share of renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, most of energy resources is still rely on fossil fuels and nuclear power.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion. I totally agree with your idea. Japan should change energy form nuclear to renewable to prevent this from happening again.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
-Turbines can now span up to 300 feet at the hub height, but they can not go a lot higher where the more wind there is more power. However, humans still have an energy crisis and a climate crisis. Therefore, they have to make 10 trillion watts or more of new clean energy in the next 30 to 40 years. As a result, he suggested using wind energy because wind is the second largest renewable energy. However, more than enough to supply humanity 200 times over the majority of it is in the higher altitudes above 300 feet where people don’t have technology yet to get there. So, Saul griffith’s mentioned using kites for getting wind energy. I think his idea can be successful, someday, but the negative aspect is that technology of the present is unable to reach the altitude for this technology. It means the possibility of success of energy using kite is unknown. On the other hand, If the technology succeeds in developing through his theory, it will be the most powerful and sustainable energy. Also, that can be a positive aspect of this energy.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
In South Korea, the main energy sources are coal, crude oil, natural gas, and renewable energy. Among these, coal and crude oil account for about 70% of total energy use. Nowadays, renewable energy is being tried in South Korea, however. For example, wind energy, solar energy, and geothermal energy are common renewable energy in our country. Nevertheless, the reason for the usage of renewable energy is lower than coal or crude oil is the price and lack of installation space. So, we have to find new renewable energy.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion. I agree with you because they already have tried to develop and it seems like realistic because of the reliable evidences and if it will succeeds it is going to be kind of a big energy resause.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I believe his ideas will be successful in the future. Because he has already proven the possibility of his invention through experiments. In his experiments, he succeeded in generating enough energy to power five households using the kite principle. It is an amazing invention that a kite, about the size of a piano, can provide enough energy to power five households. In the beginning of this video, he mentioned about the incredible power and potential of the wind. Wind is the second most renewable resource after sunlight and is 200 times more powerful than humans. This data provides great support for the success of his idea of harnessing the power of the wind. He also mentioned the potential that kites have, which is different from conventional wind power generation. As a positive aspect, his invention allows it to sweep through more sky and generate more power. It can also reach heights of 300 feet, which are impossible to reach with current technology. However, there are negative aspects. With this invention, there may be unexpected problems as there are no pioneers. For example, if there is a mechanical problem higher than 2000 feet and a part comes off, it will fall at a very high speed and be dangerous.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Japan has been actively making use of renewable energy sources. Japan is known for its active volcanic activity, making it suitable for geothermal power generation. One famous example is the Geothermal power station in Beppu, Oita Prefecture. This facility harnesses the natural heat from underground hot springs to generate electricity. The region’s abundant hot springs and geothermal resources contribute to Japan’s efforts in sustainable energy production. And Japan also makes use of solar power, with a significant number of photovoltaic installations across the country. Wind energy is also on the rise, with various wind farms contributing to the renewable energy mix. Japan is making efforts to transition towards a more sustainable and renewable energy future.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion. I agree with you. if there are electronic problems up in the sky, it would be very dangerous.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I think his idea to make big machines which generate wind power by using airplanes will be successful. Because wind power is the second largest renewable resource after solar power, and in the higher altitudes, there is stronger wind than lower altitudes. If his development goes well, it will create huge electricity. In addition, the power is renewable power, so people don’t need to worry about the big impact on the environment and ecosystem. Also, he can use existing parts of airplanes. That leads to reduced costs and time. People have to generate electricity as soon as possible. On the other hand, there are some negative aspects. That plan is unrealistic. It is difficult to borrow a propeller from an airline company. He may need government power. For that purpose first, it is necessary to heighten people’s sense of fuel crisis. That seems to take a long time.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Yes, Japan does, but the percentage is not high. Thermal power is 75% of all Japanse energy, and nuclear power is 4.3%. About the 20% left is renewable power such as hydroelectric power, biomass power, geothermal power, wind power, and solar power. Compared to other countries in the world, the Japanese percentage of renewable power is so low. Australia is a country which is top in generating renewable energy. And the percentage is about 80%. Even with that result, the percentage of renewable power has increased since the Great East Japan Earthquake. What should we do to spread renewable power? I have an example in my hometown, Sado island. There is a plan for offshore wind power generation. There are stronger winds in the sea than on land. Especially in winter the waves become so big that the ferry can’t depart. The bad weather doesn’t seem to bring anything good. But if we have offshore wind power generation, we can generate a lot of power! And make me feel a little virtuous.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion. I really agree with your opinion. I think his project will be succesed by future technology. I thought the idea of offshore wind power generation was very good. I will use this as a reference for my essay.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
In my opinion, his idea will be successful, it seems to cost much though. However, He suggests people already has done an experiment using a kite based on proper evidence which is more power need more height, and where more height has more wind. They are also trying the kite to fly 2000 feet and generate tons of clean electricity and it seems like realistic because of the evidences. However people have not had the technology to get 300 feet yet, they are developing the control systems now.So I think if they can made the technology completely, it can be posssible to be used for new energy. Advantage of this energy is it can create a huge amount of clean electricity at the same time, and it doesn’t hurt the environment either. I consider the disadvantage is still lack of technology ,and I concerned about using fuel to make the kite because it kind of huge , it seems not like easy to create . Also if it is broken, it can difficult to throw it away like solar panels. If that so, it is not really good to the environment.
b) Does your country makes use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Even though renewable energy is still not really common in Japan, thesedays it has being used little by littele and solar energy is used mainly. The amount of renewable energy that is used in Japan is just responsible for 20% of total energy, and it is lesser than the other developed country. One of the reason why it is not used widely is the geographical and climatical issues. Japan has relatively short daylight time so energy produced from solar is less than other countries. In addition, there are many disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes , so places where power generation equipment can be installed tend to be limited. So goverment has new system that obliges electric companies to purchase electricity generated from renewable energy sauce from house hold and they can get some income from their energy as solution to let people use the renewsble energy. But there are still have many problems about renewable energy so it is hard to spread as main energy in Japan .
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain
First of all, I saw his idea in this video and thought it was a very unique idea. I have no idea that he thought of the kites he used as a child as a material for producing energy. Furthermore, I believe that his ideas will be successful in the future. The best part about this idea is that you can generate your own renewable energy. He said that some of the energy in this world could be easily supplemented. However, one negative point of this idea is that it is difficult to achieve that height now. However, this could be improved in the future. If he can overcome this height problem, I think it will be of great help in increasing energy resources in the future. Furthermore, since it generates its own natural energy and creates energy from it, there are no restrictions or limits and it can be used for a lifetime.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples
Renewable energy sources used in Japan include solar power, wind power, hydropower, and biomass energy. In particular, solar power generation is rapidly spreading and is playing a role in renewable energy. On the other hand, there are several issues regarding renewable energy in Japan. For example, solar power generation and wind power generation are greatly affected by the weather, making it impossible to provide a stable energy supply. There are other problems with renewable energy in Japan, such as the huge cost involved in installing it and the need for appropriate and large amounts of land to produce large-scale renewable energy. Currently, in Japan, efforts are being made to advance technology and support funding in order to overcome these challenges. In fact, my Japanese house has solar panels installed on the ceiling to generate solar power. We are able to produce and consume electricity ourselves. It was true that it cost money to buy solar panels, but after that, my electricity bill was almost gone. I thought that other people should also know this fact.
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Thank you for sharing your opinions. It’s an interesting idea that people generate their own energy by themselves. It’s similar to solar panels in Japan. It’s a good aspects that solar and wind power generation are affected by the weather. We should consider the issue well. Also I agree with your idea that the cost of setting solar panels is usually gone by using the generated energy.
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(A) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects?
Thomas Edison said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” So I believe that Saul Griffith’s idea will be successfully implemented due to its innovative approach and potential benefits. According to his description, in the next 30 to 40 years, we need to generate 10 trillion watts of clean energy, and wind, with 3600 terawatts available, is the second-largest renewable source, capable of supplying humanity 200 times over. And his team has successfully generated about 10 kilowatts. So it is possible to achieve anything, depending on whether you take action or not. As Louis Pasteur said, “Chance favors only the prepared mind.”
However, the majority of wind energy is in the higher altitudes, above 300 feet, current technology cannot reach this height. Additionally, how to transport this large generator to high altitudes, ensure continuous power generation, and also equipment maintenance and cost-effectiveness are all important considerations.
(B) Does your country make use of renewable energy?
In recent years, renewable energy, including solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, has been increasingly used in Taiwan due to the rising of energy demands, and environmental concerns. Solar energy has gained significant attention in Taiwan, with the government actively promoting the installation of solar panels on rooftops and in solar farms. Taiwan also benefits from abundant sunshine, especially in the southern regions, making it a suitable location for solar power , such as the Tainan Solar Farm. Wind energy is another important renewable energy in Taiwan. The location of Taiwan in the typhoon belt provides strong and consistent winds, particularly on the western and offshore areas, such as my hometown, Hsinchu. Some international companies have invested in offshore wind projects in Taiwan, such as Vestas and Siemens Gamesa. Taiwan’s terrain and abundant rainfall make it well-suited for hydroelectric power, Several hydropower plants are already in operation, generating electricity from the numerous rivers and dams. These facilities provide a stable source of renewable energy, particularly during the rainy season. Taiwan also has the geothermal energy. The Yang Ming Shan National Park is a notable example of geothermal utilization. Overall, with government support, international investments, and a favorable natural environment, Taiwan is an ideal location for generating renewable energy.
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Thank you for your opinion.
About question A, I agree with you and thank you for writing about specific details about that. And also, in your country there are some renewable energy that my country has, interesting.
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Thank you for your opinion.
I agree with your opinion in question A, and thank you for specific details about that. And also there are some renewable energy that my country has too, interesting.
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1.I think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful because I think that in the future, the development of science and technology will definitely be more and more advanced, and in the future, we will definitely be able to build an airplane to collect more wind energy. I also agree that more sky can generate more power, more height is where the more wind is, and more power. In addition, because wind is the second-largest renewable resource after solar, I think scientists will definitely put more resources into wind power generation, and invent kites to get more wind energy. If the research is successful, maximum efficiency can be used in the Spruce Goose, and it would be a 15-megawatt wing. I think the advantage is that you can get more wind energy from the kite higher in the sky. The negative aspect is it takes long flights to get enough wind energy, so it may require enough manpower to take care of the device, and more money is needed to develop the automaton.
2. Hong Kong’s renewable energy sources include solar power, hydropower and wind power. Many places in Hong Kong have solar panels. Hong Kong’s largest solar power system, completed in 2021 at Hong Kong Disneyland, can generate about 2.36 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Second, Hong Kong has one of the few hydroelectric power stations in the world that can be built in a water treatment plant, and the system is fully automated, and the generator operation speed will be adjusted according to the daily water pressure to improve the power generation efficiency. Hong Kong has also built wind turbines on Lamma Island. Officially commissioned on 23 February 2006, it is expected to provide electricity to 250 households for one year.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion. I’m glad that both of us have similar opinions. And I believe that his project will be implemented successfully in the future. Additionally, Thank you for sharing information about renewable energy in Hong Kong.
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thank you for sharing your opinion. I disagree your opinion because I think governments should try to solve the money problem. His idea is very interesting so I believe they can help to solve it.
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a)
I think it will be successful in the future. Because it is kind of renewable energy. Recently, coal oils and fossil fuels cause so many environmental problems. And I think his idea will solve this problem. But it has negative aspect. In this video, he said that turbines can grew span up to 300 feet at the hub height, but it can’t go a lot higher. It means more height and more wind makes more power. Depends on situation, the amount of power changes. Because the weather change.But if we use kites as renewable energy instead of unrenewable energy, we have to continue making energy all time. But, we can’t control the wind because it’s kind of environment. So he have to solve this problem to use instead of limited energy in the future. And as a positive effected, this power needs only wind. You don’t have built something like solar panels. Also, it is helpful to solve global warming. Because it doesn’t emit carbon dioxide. From these aspects, he have to change some ways but I’m sure that it will be helpful for our society.
b)
Yes. I’m from Japan and we have a lot of renewable energy. Wind, solar, geothermal…etc. For example, my grandmother has solar panels in her garden. Our hometown is in rural area, so we have enough space to install the solar panels. But in fact, there is a huge gap between urban area and rural area. Because almost renewable energy need nature resources. If there are not nature, we have no idea to make energy. And also it easy to built in rural area. But, in urban area, there are not space to built.
Generally, people don’t think seriously about our limited energy. So there are a few renewable energy behavior in Japan even though learn about that in the school. Japan is one of developed countries and we spent electronic stuff too much. So we have to think about our limited energy to continue developing. And the problem is that some people don’t know about our problems and energy. We need to spread information for everyone to create energy.
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Thank you for sharing, I also think this will be successful, but it is true that the wind is uncontrollable, so the wind power obtained by the kite flying in the sky is different every time, but I believe that if this research can be successful, it should also be a good channel to obtain energy. In addition, there is a big difference between urban and rural areas, and the use of renewable energy in cities is relatively small due to land constraints.
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a) I think his idea will be successful in the future. His idea is that kites are not just toys, but also autonomous generation of power. It is generated about 10 kilowatts by flying a kite not larger than a grand piano. His team was trying to develop the control systems to enable sustained and long duration flight, as the Wright brothers did. Now, they are beyond the steps and working towards megawatt scale machines. A small paper plane generates enough power for a cell phone. So he argues that if they use larger planes, much more power could be generated. From the above, I believe that his idea becomes possible in the far future even if his team can’t achieve it, and the idea will generate a huge amount of energy.
The positive aspect is that wind has incredible power, and it is the second largest renewable resource after solar. However, there is also the negative aspect. The big part of the power is the higher attitudes, and people don’t have the technology to reach there yet. Additionally. It’s hard to fly some kites and planes for thousands of hours, so the control systems should be developed more.
b) In my home country, Japan, the share of renewable energy is to be 22.7% in 2022, and it has increased compared to the previous year (ISEP, 2023.) Solar capacity has increased from 3.62GW in 2010 to 74.19GW in 2021 while Japan remained in fourth place in the world (IRENA, 2022.) As a consequence, nearly 10% of Japan’s electricity production was generated by solar in 2021. Actually, a number of solar panels are seen on the roofs of general houses in Japan. The owners directly use the power that was generated by the panels for their electronics. The cost to set the panels is quite expensive, but usually people can have a return of it before the panels are broken. Also the share of biomass power generation has increased from 4.1% to 4.6%. However, wind power generated only 0.85% and this has decreased 0.03% from the previous year (ISEP, 2023.)
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Thank you for sharing your opinion. I didn’t know the specific information about biomass power so it is very interesting for me.
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a)His idea will be successful in the future. He already talked about the possibility of wind power which is based on kite control system. As he states in his video, solar power is the second largest renewable energy source after photovoltaics. If the kite reaches a height of 300 feet, it will be able to generate 3,600 terawatts of electricity, more than 200 times over. Therefore, if wind energy is produced using kites, kites can produce a lot of energy in a short period of time, so they can get a lot of energy, and it means eco-friendly. On the other hand, I guess there is negative point. There some restriction and risks of wing such as bad weather. If the weather is not good, kites cannot fly and produce energy for a certain period of time. It is serious problem to produce energy.
b)In 2020, renewable energy sources will account for 20.8% of electricity generation in Japan, compared to 2014, there has been an increase of about 8.7% in renewable energy generation. While the share of renewable energy is increasing every year, it is also clear that the country is still dependent on thermal power generation. in addition, in 2010, renewable energy in Japan accounted for about 9.5%of the total, less than 10 % of the total. Over the past decade, however, the percentage has nearly doubled. This is largely due to the accident at tepco’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant. It caused extensive damage, including radioactive contamination in 2011.
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Thank you for sharing your idea. I had o idea that the percentage of electricity generated by renewable energy in Japan was so high. You are right, Japan has become especially serious about energy issues since the Fukushima accident.
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Thank you for your sharing. However I disagree with your opinion, I also hope this idea will be success, but i think it is impossible. It is because the kites need to fly continue thousand of hours to get the enough energy, it is too long times and I don’t think the kites can fly so long time . Also the kites need to have the technology to help the kites to maintain continue flying, I think this invention will be very difficult.Therefore , I think this idea will not successful.
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I think that his idea will be successful in the future. He had tried to use kite to make energy but the technology was not enough. But, he was already success to make electricity 10KW with his team members. But the kite had to improve for getting more energy because people need more energy. So, wind turbines are efficient than kite now. However, if the kite can go higher, it is going to be more efficient than wind turbine. Also, I think that the cost can be cheaper. If the kite can go higher, people get more energy because higher place can be make high energy. However, it has some problems. Now, it is difficult to get high energy by the kite. It is one of the negative point of using the kite. So, people have to improve the technology and try to using the kite higher place. But if this problem is solved, using the kite is can be helpful for getting much energy. Getting more energy is one of the positive point especially the places where have huge population because if the population increases, people need more energy to survive.
In Japan, people use renewable energy such as solar power, hydro power, wind power. There are a lot of wind turbine in Japan but I saw that sometimes it did not work because of weather. Solar power and wind power are common energy sources but the effects are depends on the weather. So, I think that these are not good way to make energy because if the day is cloudy and windless, solar panel and wind turbine do not work. So, people need to get new renewable energy. Hydropower is also common renewable energy in Japan. The effects are also depends on the weather but recent years, the rain day increases in Japan. So, I think that hydropower is good renewable energy. If the raining day increase, people can keep enough water to make electricity and people can continue to make electricity even if the raining day decrease after rain season. However, these renewable energy can not work every season because the effects are depends on the weather. So, we need to think about new renewable energy of what we can use a whole year.
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Hi, Masa. Thank you for sharing your opinion. I did not think about the problem of his idea from technological aspect but I am also sure that if these kind of problems solve, his idea will be great!
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Thank you for sharing your opinion.
I totally agree with you. Japan has typhoons and earthquakes, so wind power and solar power aren’t adaptable.
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I think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful. First, he mentioned that the second-largest renewable energy resource is wind which is 3600 terawatts to supply humanity 200 times over. However, 3600 terawatts could be produced in the higher altitudes, above 300 feet, where we cannot get there because of unadvanced technology. In order to solve this problem, he used kites instead of conventional generator. He generated 10 kilowatts that enough to power five United States households in his projects. Based on the his data, his idea will be big step to save energy crisis. Wind power is renewable energy, free fuel, cleanest energy. Even though it is one of the eco-friendly energies, there are some negative sides. First, it is dangerous to wildlife. Wind turbines is very huge. It’s possible for flying birds and bats to bump into them and be killed or harmed. We have to concern this subject. Second, it is noisy. Wind turbines makes noisy sound. That’s why most of them can be found in very rural area such as offshore because it doesn’t matter there. Third, it is unreliable or unpredictable. Wind is not always same speed so it’s difficult to predict the amount of energy. The positive sides are free fuel. Once set up the wind turbines, they don’t need fuel to keep working. Wind power is no end. Wind energy is cleanest. It doesn’t emit co2. It can reduce using fossil fuels.
Compared to the rest of the world, We generate electricity from solar and hydroelectric power, however, Japan lags behind in introducing renewable energy. There are two reasons. First, the installation of power generation facilities is very limited because there are many earthquakes and disasters. Since it is also the path of a typhoon, wind power generation should be temporarily stopped. This will not provide continuous power. Japan has a geographic problem as well. Japan is a long country, so the time of exposure to the sun and wind strength vary depending on the region. One of the problems is that we cannot rely on our neighbors because we are an island nation. We use renewable energy, but there are still problems.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion; I completely agree with you. I also believe his idea could be successful, but it has some drawbacks, such as potential harm to wildlife, noise, the scale of the required space, and intermittency. They should continue to consider environmental impacts, but his new idea has the potential to become a significant renewable resource.
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– a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I believe his idea will be successful in the future. Generating energy by kites is interesting and if it is possible, we can make much energy through this system. Moreover, wind power means it is a renewable energy. It is equal that it is friendly to our environment. Nowadays, airplane is very essential things for us and it flies everyday. If we attach this system to each airplane, we can make energy by it eternal. On the other hand, there are also some disadvantages. they need to make a system that can endure the climate change by flying including bad weather or strong wind. His idea is great but it may not be realistic. That’s why I just say I believe his idea will be successful.
– b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Yes, it does. I guess solar panel energy is very close renewable energy to us, especially for me. When I was a junior high school student, I always saw many solar panel during commuting school. My elementary school also has solar panels on the rooftop. These are used for school electricity. Japanese people are educated about eco-friendly or energy saving during schooling so that we pay attention about our environmental so much. Except for above example, we have windmills everywhere and create more energy by ourselves.
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Hi Ayana. Thank you for sharing your opinion. I have the same feeling as you that they will succeed. They have strong dreams supporting them. I believe that educating about the importance of renewable energy development from a young age can contribute to our efforts for environmental sustainability.
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Hi, Ayana. Thank you for sharing your opinion. I agree some parts of your opinion but I have a different opinion.
You said, if we use wind power, it is eco-friendly, but I don’t think so. The process making airplanes and these kites system might produce a lot of carbon dioxide emissions. That’s why I have disagreement with you.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I think his idea will not be successful because it seems to be not achievable. If this idea would be successful, we can save a lot of natural resources and produce renewable energy. It is very eco-friendly and sustainable for our future. However, we need huge space and large amount of money to use this system. Of course, the sky is not limited, but we would be unable to enjoy beautiful views in the sky. If we avoid this problem, we need huge space like desert. Therefore I think it is impossible to introduce this idea in developed countries and cities. In addition, making this system costs a lot. He didn’t mention about how much it costs in the TED talks, however aviation industry absolutely produce much money so we need a lot of money to use this system. From space and financial aspects, I think this idea will not be successful.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Japan has a variety of renewable energy resources, including geothermal, hydropower, wind and solar energy as well as biomass. Solar power in Japan has been increasing since 1990s. Solar power has become an important national priority after Japan experienced the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. This event totally changed Japanese people’s ways of thinking about energy resources. Japan was the world’s second largest market for solar PV growth in 2013 and 2014. In addition, a lot of famous auto companies such as Honda and Toyota has been making electric cars. Actually, my family has an electric car and I think it is very useful and comfortable because we can use electricity in emergency and electric cars don’t make sounds when they are running. However, only few people use electric cars in Japan. In 2022, approximately three percent of sold passenger cars in Japan were electric. Although the number has been increasing every year but it is still very low. I think introducing more electric cars can bring us better world.
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Hi , Rin. Thank you for sharing your opinion. Your opinion is interesting, and I also think his idea is novel, but reckless and has real problems. In particular, as you already said, I do not know the exact cost, but I agree with your opinion that there will be a lot of cost problems. I discovered a problem I hadn’t thought of. Thank you.
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Hi, Rin. Thank you for sharing your opinion. I did not think about the cost of this system but I think we do not need care about it too much. Every time we invent new things, it is necessary to invest money first. In this case as well but we, including you are sure it will be the great option to produce renewable energy.
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A) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I personally felt Saul Griffith’s idea would be successful. Because he provided concrete and actionable solutions such as a free-flying wing can sweep through more sky and generate more power in a unit of time than a fixed-wing turbine. When turbines grew, it can now span up to three hundred feet at the hub height, but they can’t really go a lot higher, and more height is where the more wind is, and more power — as much as twice as much. The above methods have supporting evidence in Miles Loyd’s paper and Griffith have been practically implemented. Unfortunately, we can not reach that level of technology or optimize High-Altitude wind energy. But I still believe machines or AI will assist us to “touch” the sky, much like how we created rockets and spacecraft. Never give up any possibility and hope.
B) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Yes it does. In Taiwan, renewable energy, primarily solar and hydropower, is the main focus. Then we also continued effort to develop green energy and reduce reliance on thermal power generation. Taiwan is located in the subtropical zone, rich in solar energy resources, suitable for the development of solar energy. As for my hometown Hsinchu, it is suitable for wind power development because Hsinchu is the city with the strongest winds in Taiwan. There is another title for Hsinchu is the “Windy City”.When I was a child, I often saw many windmills by the seaside, but I didn’t know their importance at that time. I hope Hsinchu can build a comprehensive wind power system to aid Taiwan’s renewable energy development and construct more wind turbines to accompany the people of my hometown.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion. I think it is difficult to reach high point where has strong wind. To achieve this, technology has to develop significantly. Also, these kinds of technology need a lot of money, but goverments already have invested other kinds of renewable energy. As a result, it takes more time to “touch” the sky.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I think his idea has a good chance of success in the future!
In the video, in his experiment, the kite principle has been used to generate enough power to supply five households.
Now the team is actively developing a megawatt-scale machine that can generate large amounts of renewable energy and fly at altitude of 2,000 feet. In addition to this he mentioned that wind energy is the second largest source of energy after solar energy. The video also mentioned that the larger the scale of the equipment, the greater the potential energy. If this project successful, I think high-altitude wind energy will be one of the main renewable energy sources in the future!
But on the other hand, weather conditions must also be taken into consideration. These equipment require long flights. If the weather is bad, not only a machine may be damaged, the time of the plan will also be lengthened, and the time and labor costs required will be extended. It will be a big problem.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Taiwan is currently actively promoting the use of renewable energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and lower emissions.
Such as wind energy, solar energy, hydropower, and appreciation energy.
Taiwan is an island country with abundant wind energy resources, especially in the western region, where there are many wind power generation facilities.
In addition, Kaohsiung City is the city with the most sunshine in Taiwan. The development of solar energy here is the best choice. The Taiwan government also encourages the construction of solar power generation systems. This year’s budget subsidy is as high as 15 million yuan. Most construction companies can get government subsidies.
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Thank you for your sharing opinion. I agree with your idea!! I think Saul Griffith’s idea for using high-flying kites to make energy is really promising. In his test, the kites made enough power for five homes. Now, they’re working on a bigger machine that can make a lot more clean energy and fly really high, up to 2,000 feet. Saul also said wind power is the second biggest source of clean energy after sunlight. Making the equipment bigger means it can capture even more energy. But, we have to think about the weather. If it’s bad, it could be a problem. The machines might get damaged, and the plans might take longer and cost more.
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a) I think Saul Griffith’s ideas are novel and make sense. On the positive side, as he mentioned in the lecture, there is little chance of environmental pollution problems such as air pollution occurring during the energy production process. This is because energy is produced solely by relying on the power of natural wind. Additionally, it has significant efficiency in producing energy. According to his claim, when comparing the amount of energy produced by fossil fuels currently used by humans and the energy produced through wind, fossil fuels produce 12 trillion watts (12 terawatts) of energy. However, wind power is an energy resource that produces the second largest amount of energy after solar energy, producing 3,600 terawatts of energy, which is 200 times the energy needed by humanity. This shows significant energy efficiency. Additionally, if energy is produced with wings the same size as a Boeing 747, it is said that more energy can be produced than the energy production of the largest existing wind power plant.
However, there is a negative side to this idea. First, there are risks involved. Of course, Saul Griffith is said to be developing a robot that not only is used to produce wind energy through free flight but also acts as a control system for thousands of hours of continuous, long-term flight. At thjis point, an important condition for this technology is free flight. Free flight means that it moves irregularly without a set route or trajectory, relying only on the direction of the wind. Another condition is that a ‘kite’ with huge wings must exist. This may cause safety issues. Furthermore, it can pose a risk to the bird ecosystem. It is said that although the typical wind power generator currently in use only rotates the turbine in a regular direction at a fixed position, deaths are frequent due to birds hitting the wings. On the other hand, this technology involves large, irregularly moving wings flying high in the air, which can cause bigger problems. Noise problems may occur General wind power generation also generates noise due to blade rotation. However, because this technology’s kite spins with a larger trajectory and greater energy force, it can cause louder noise.
b) Representatively, Korea produces renewable energy using solar and wind power, and also produces and uses renewable energy through hydropower, marine, bio, and various renewable wastes. In 2021, according to statistics from the Korea Energy Agency, the proportion of electricity production using renewable energy was around 8% of Korea’s total electricity production. However, Korea is also continuing to increase its use and production of eco-friendly renewable energy. As mentioned earlier, solar and wind energy are mainly produced and used as renewable energy, and wind power generators are typically located in the mountainous region of Korea called Daegwallyeong. This is one of the highest altitude areas in Korea and is windy, making it a suitable location for the installation of wind power generators. In addition, wind power generators are sometimes installed near the sea or in places where there is a lot of wind. Solar power generators are managed by the government or local government by installing a generator on a large, suitable site, or by installing panels on the rooftops of apartments, schools, and private homes with subsidies from the government as part of an eco-friendly policy to produce solar power. There is a way to use electricity through it.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion. I partly agree with your opinion. I think there are certainly times when natural energy is dangerous because we can not control it, but if he can solve that problem, his idea will be even better.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I think his idea will be successful and it will help to solve the resource depletion problem. He used kites to generate electricity. They used windy places above the sky to make electricity by making robots fly kites. In the video, he said his experiment generated 10 kilowatts of electricity. This amount of energy is almost the same as about the usage amount of 10 houses in the United States, and kites which are smaller than a piano can generate that enough energy. We can trust his new way to create electricity. The positive aspects of his idea are ecofriendly and we can expect stable and efficient electricity supply. His idea does not emit carbon dioxide, and does not hurt the environment by installing equipment. Also, he was flying kites in areas with strong winds for a stable supply of electricity.This can generate electricity more effectively than wind power generators.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Yes, our country makes use of renewable energy. We can see many solar panels in Japan. Not only industry, but also many people put solar panels on the roofs of their homes. Especially in my hometown, a lot of renewable energy is used.Fortunately, there are many hot springs in my hometown, so we can use geothermal power.You can also see wind power generators on the mountain. A company in my hometown is promoting the introduction of small hydroelectric power generation.Hydroelectricity mainly builds dams and uses the power of water falling from the high point to low point to generate electricity. It’s an eco-friendly way because it doesn’t emit carbon dioxide, but building dams leads to environmental destruction.However, small hydroelectric power generation does not need the construction of dams and uses natural river flows to generate electricity. It can prevent the environmental destruction.
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Thank you sharing your opinion! I was surprised your home town make use of lot of renewable energy such as solver power, geothermal power and Hideo power etc. Japan has a lot of natural resources, but renewable energy is not very popular, so I would like to see Japan become more eco-friendly.
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1.Saul Griffth’s idea is that the incredible power in the wind can do amazing things. He supports his idea with kites’ history. In my opinion, his idea will be successful in that it has the following positive aspects.
To generate enormous amounts of electricity, a free-flying wing can sweep through more sky and generate more power in a unit of time than a fix-wing turbine. There is more wind and power in the higher altitudes. Also, wind is the second-largest renewable resource after solar, so it can be sustainable.
However, it has a negative aspect, which is that the majority of it is in the higher altitudes, above 300 feet, where we don’t have a technology as yet to get there. Therefore, the technology to get there should be developed.
2.Now Korea has one of the lowest penetrations of renewables of developed market globally. However, it is changing with a govenment policy targeting an extra almost 50GW of renewables to be installed by 2030. For example, solar and wind power production have gradually increased. As an initiative to meet renewable energy targets stipulated in the 9th Basic Plan for Long-term Electricity Supply and Demand, Korea endeavors in adding 45.6 GW of solar generation capacity and 24.9 GW wind power capacity by the year 2034.
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a) Do you think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I don’t think his idea will be successful. This is because I think there are two negative aspects from a cost perspective. The first is that it is thought to have low durability and increase repair costs. I once visited a wind power plant in Japan, and the guide told me that wind turbines often break down due to rain, wind, typhoons, etc., and the repair costs are huge. Griffith’s kite seems to be built higher place and doesn’t have a strong shaft like a wind turbine, so I think it’s more likely to break. The second reason is that construction and transportation costs are considered to be high. It is necessary to build the kite in a place where the wind blows well and where it will not cause harm to people even if it breaks, so I think it is necessary to build it in a place far away from the area where people live. It causes the cost of building the kite to be high. Also, I think the cost of building the pipes to transport the generated electricity is high. On the positive side, future technological developments may lead to more indestructible kites and methods of power transport.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Japan stopped all nuclear power generation after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in 2011. It partially started running again, but still cautious. Therefore, Japan is proactive about renewable energy. Geographically, Japan has many mountains and the mountains are close to the sea, so hydroelectric power generation is the most popular. According to the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies (ISEP), the percentage of hydroelectric power generation in 2021 was 7.8%.
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Thank you for your sharing opinion. i partly agree with you. Exactly, it might be true that the kite is fragile and I costs too much money. But as he mention in the presentation, the us government has invested a lot of money to military. So, instead of this stupid usage of money, we should invest to the kite I think.
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I believe Saul Griffith’s concept holds great potential for the future. In his presentation, he discusses the innovative approach of harnessing wind energy through kites, and his project team has already made significant strides in generating 10 kW of electricity using this method. To truly realize its potential, it’s crucial to enhance the altitude at which the kite operates. Traditional wind turbines reach heights of around 300 feet, and Saul emphasizes that higher altitudes yield stronger winds and greater electricity generation.
However, current technology falls short of achieving the desired altitude. If this innovation comes to fruition, it could revolutionize the way we produce renewable electricity. This would lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions, playing a vital role in mitigating global warming. I’m optimistic about the success of Saul’s project and its potential to generate a substantial amount of clean electricity in the future.
Yes. In japan , there are a lot of types of renewable energies. Japan has made efforts to diversify its energy sources and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. For example, solar energy is most poplar in Japan as renewable energy. We can see many solar panels are set by the government in the lakes or dams. Wind energy is another form of renewable energy in Japan. The country has both onshore and offshore wind farms. And Japan has a long history of using hydropower for electricity generation. It has various hydroelectric power plants. Except these, Japan has geothermal energy, biomass energy, and so on.
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Thank you for sharing your idea. I also think that his idea is not available now
because of the technological problems, but in the future, it will be successful
based on his track record. I think the future of these kind of renewable energy is bright!
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a)Do you think Saul Griffth’s idea will be successful or not? What are the positive and negative aspects? Explain.
I believe Saul Griffith’s idea will be a success and it may also solve one of the climate change problems. One of the positive aspects of the idea is that the wind power that kites create is a renewable energy source, and it does not produce any greenhouse gas emissions. The other is that the kites which are not much larger than a piano can create enough power to power the United States household without harming the environment around them. On the other hand, some negative points exist in his idea, such as it is too “audacious” to create. Developing control systems for long-term flight is one of its challenges since the kites mostly rely on the weather conditions. If this control system is improved, kites’ wind can be one of our renewable creative energy sources.
b) Does your country make use of renewable energy? Give examples.
Japan has been investing in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass energy. According to Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies in 2022, among these renewable energies, solar power generation accounted for 9.9% of electricity generated, almost reaching 10%, up from 9.3% in 2021. Also, they mentioned about wind and geothermal power that wind power generation remained at 0.85%, down from 0.88% the previous year(2021), while geothermal power generation remained virtually unchanged at 0.25% from the previous year. Japan has been relying on non-renewable energy such as gas, coal, and nuclear, however, after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, Japan increased its focus on renewable energy as a safer and more sustainable alternative.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion.
I think it is good for the international community that it is new to find that Japan is steadily investing in new and renewable energy, and that Japan is very interested in environmental issues.
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I think this is bound to succeed in the future. Because it is renewable energy without pollution to the environment. Today, the need for environmental protection is an important factor worldwide. Coal, which is still used as a major energy source, is a serious cause of environmental destruction and is a direct cause of today’s climate change and global warming. Therefore, the development of new and renewable energy is essential to preserve the environment worldwide, and the use of wind energy using these kites has many positive factors in conserving the environment. Saul Griffith noted in the video that he can fly higher than a turbine to produce energy. It is very positive because it flies higher and produces a higher amount of wind energy and there is nothing damaging to the environment. Of course, there is still a major drawback that wind energy is very unstable and uncertain because it is affected by the weather, or wind. Nevertheless, I think that being able to preserve the environment and produce energy needs to be invested and developed for the future global environment. Wind energy can be used as a major energy resource in the future if continuous investment can solve the biggest problem, variability.
Coal is still used as a major energy resource in Korea. However, there have been many cases of using renewable energy recently. Large-scale wind farms are being built in some places in Korea to make energy using wind power. In addition, in one area, energy generated by collecting rainwater and producing energy from sunlight and wind generated during sunlight hours is also used as a smart plant system that automatically controls irrigation and drainage in the garden by operating rainfall detectors. In addition, by using solar and wind lights in electric vehicle charging stations and private buildings and creating shelters using solar panels, energy made from solar power is used at the shelter while resting at the shelter on hot summer days. In addition, efforts are being made to utilize renewable energy in Korea, such as installing cooling and heating systems at bus stops using solar energy.
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a)
I think Saul Griffith’s idea will be successful. His idea about generating electricity for using a kite is very innovative. That is because according to this video, wind turbines can now span up to three hundred feet at the hub height, but they can’t really go a lot higher. The majority of wind power is in the higher altitudes, above 300 feet, where any engineer does not have a technology as yet to get there. If his idea is put into practical use, it will play a big role to solve environment problems. Also, today renewable energy is getting attention and wind is the second-largest renewable energy after solar. So, government and some companies that have to promote sustainable want to use this technology. So, they will invest on his idea. He said we are working towards megawatt-scale machines that fly at 2000 feet and generate tons of clean electricity. Maybe this idea is difficult to achieve due to big scale and so much cost to develop. But, if government or companies invest on it, he will be able to spend a lot of money to develop new technology. That is why his idea will be successful.
b)
Yes, Japan make use of renewable energy. According to Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2022, renewable energies in Japan will account for 24% of all electricity generated. Renewable energies such as solar, hydro, geothermal, biomass, and wind power are increasing every year, and when it comes to solar power, the number of panels installed is the third largest in the world after China and the United States. Photovoltaic power generation has rapidly grown to account for a greater share of the total than other renewable energies, in part because it is easier for households to install. However, compared to major European countries and China, the percentage of renewable energy in Japan is still small. That is because, Renewable energy sources other than solar panels are not very accessible to majority of Japanese people. To address this issue and more and more electric power companies are offering electricity rate plans that use only renewable energy sources.
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