The Greenbird: Is Wind-Powered Transportation The Way Of The Future? (PHOTOS)

The Greenbird: Is Wind-Powered Transportation The Way Of The Future? (PHOTOS)

The Greenbird, a land and ice craft vehicle that is powered solely by wind, is a pioneering hybrid vehicle for zero carbon transportation. Designed by Ecotricity, Britain's largest independent green electricity company, and Richard Jenkins of the Windjet Project, the Greenbird is marketed as part airplane, part sailboat, and part Formula One vehicle. Richard Jenkins and Ecotricity's owner Dale Vince view their miracle wind-powered vehicle, that is free of fossil fuels and excessive engineering, as the future of eco-conscious transportation.

On March 26th, 2009, the Greenbird shattered the land speed world record for wind-powered vehicles, clocking in at 126.2 miles per hour along the California/Nevada border. The previous record for the fastest wind-powered vehicle was 116 miles per hour, set by the Iron Duck in 1999. The next challenge for the Greenbird is to take the title of the fastest ice vehicle in a race to be held this winter.

Cleantechnica's Moiz Kapadia details the future of the Greenbird technology:

The successful design and lessons learned from the Greenbird are allowing Jenkins and Vince to look into the future - where fossil fuels are no longer providing our energy and transport. Jenkins believes that wind-powered vehicles could be built for use on a daily basis. Vince wants Ecotricity to deliver wind power to the masses, and the next generation of micro turbines could come from the same technology that the Greenbird employed to break the land speed record.

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