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got the power

13 of the weirdest energy sources in the world

Lemons, oranges and soccer balls: you can stick a conductor in just about anything, it seems…
10.00am, 6 Aug 2012
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NEW SOURCES OF energy are constantly being discovered. And some are pretty inventive.

From soccer balls to pigs to human body heat, here are some of the strangest alternative energy sources we’ve recently come across.

13 of the weirdest energy sources in the world
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  • A soccer ball

    Soccket Inc. created a soccer ball that contains an inductive coil that captures energy when the ball is hit. Fifteen minutes of play provides 3 hours of LED light. Source: Soccket (Pic: American Express/Youtube)

  • Animals' behinds

    Farmers are converting the methane from their herds' waste and converting it to energy. (Pic: AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

  • Inmates

    A prison in suburban Sao Paolo, Brazil, is having convicts pedal bikes to power some of the town's street lamps. Source: TimesLeader.com. (Pic: euronews-en via dailymotion)

  • Human body heat

    A company called Perpetua has created a device it claims will power your iPod while you jog. (Pic: Perpetua)

  • Human waste

    A British company, Water Wessex, built a VW Bio-Bug powered by human waste in 2010. (Pic: AP Photo/Santiago Llanquin)

  • The moon (well, the tides it controls)

    Norway has impressive power generation capacity from tides (regulated by the moon. Now the US has opened its first commercial tidal power plan in Maine. (Pic: AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

  • Shredded paper

    Sony is making a device that extracts cellulose from scrap paper to power batteries. Source: Industry Week (Pic: Gareth Fuller/PA Images)

  • Wastewater

    A Penn State research team has created power using wastewater-powered "reverse electrodialysis," where electrons are generated out of salt. The gradient is created by forcing wastewater and freshwater in and out of a membrane. Source: Adjuvancy.com (Pic: AP Photo/David Duprey, File)

  • Rice husks

    Some Indian villages are now getting biodiesel power from recycled rice husks (the protective covering of a rice grain). Source: Times Of India (Pic: AP Photo/K.M.Chaudary)

  • Blood

    A Swiss company has created a microscopic pacemaker turbine that gets powered by your bloodflow. Source: Dvice.com (Pic: Cathal McNaughton/PA Archive/PA Images)

  • Pond scum

    Algae contains high amounts of fatty molecules that can be extracted and converted into biodiesel. (Pic: UC San Diego)

  • Doing nothing

    Swedish designer Eddi Törnberg created this awesome set-up that powers his workspace from sitting around. The body heat of sitting in a chair, plants' natural acids and sugars, and heat from the desk appliances would all be converted into electricity. Source and pic: Eddi Tornberg

  • Lemons and oranges (and limes)

    Citrus fruits generate their own electron-producing acids that can be used to power LEDs. Source: Illinois.edu (Pic: Stephen Pond/EMPICS Sport/PA Wire)
  • Soccket Inc. created a soccer ball that contains an inductive coil that captures energy when the ball is hit. Fifteen minutes of play provides 3 hours of LED light. Source: Soccket (Pic: American Express/Youtube)
  • Farmers are converting the methane from their herds' waste and converting it to energy. (Pic: AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
  • A prison in suburban Sao Paolo, Brazil, is having convicts pedal bikes to power some of the town's street lamps. Source: TimesLeader.com. (Pic: euronews-en via dailymotion)
  • A company called Perpetua has created a device it claims will power your iPod while you jog. (Pic: Perpetua)
  • A British company, Water Wessex, built a VW Bio-Bug powered by human waste in 2010. (Pic: AP Photo/Santiago Llanquin)
  • Norway has impressive power generation capacity from tides (regulated by the moon. Now the US has opened its first commercial tidal power plan in Maine. (Pic: AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
  • Sony is making a device that extracts cellulose from scrap paper to power batteries. Source: Industry Week (Pic: Gareth Fuller/PA Images)
  • A Penn State research team has created power using wastewater-powered
  • Some Indian villages are now getting biodiesel power from recycled rice husks (the protective covering of a rice grain). Source: Times Of India (Pic: AP Photo/K.M.Chaudary)
  • A Swiss company has created a microscopic pacemaker turbine that gets powered by your bloodflow. Source: Dvice.com (Pic: Cathal McNaughton/PA Archive/PA Images)
  • Algae contains high amounts of fatty molecules that can be extracted and converted into biodiesel. (Pic: UC San Diego)
  • Swedish designer Eddi Törnberg created this awesome set-up that powers his workspace from sitting around. The body heat of sitting in a chair, plants' natural acids and sugars, and heat from the desk appliances would all be converted into electricity. Source and pic: Eddi Tornberg
  • Citrus fruits generate their own electron-producing acids that can be used to power LEDs. Source: Illinois.edu (Pic: Stephen Pond/EMPICS Sport/PA Wire)

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Susan Daly
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