Source: DigitalTrends.com
Standing 264.5 meters, or about 868 feet, from ground to tip, construction of the world’s tallest wind turbine began in a small town near Stuttgart, Germany, in October. Not only does it set a new height record, but it also introduces a new form of energy storage: the water battery. Part of a four-turbine pilot project, the towering giant will have at its base a water reservoir for a nearby pumped-storage hydropower station. This boosts the turbine’s height, allowing it to more efficiently capture wind, and also acts as short-term energy storage to help ensure grid stability. The company constructing the turbine, Max Bögl Wind, anticipates it will start supplying energy to the German power grid in 2018.
Source: NewAtlas.com
Before Amazon’s Echo and Dot devices were released in Japan in mid-October, Alexa had to go back to school, so to speak. The digital assistant built into Amazon’s devices was “rebuilt from the ground up for Japanese customers, including a new Japanese voice, local knowledge and over 250 skills from Japanese developers,” said Alexa Senior Vice President Tom Taylor. So that third-party developers can continue to tailor the devices to Japanese culture, Amazon is giving them access to Alexa’s Skills Kit.