Seattle man invents rooftop wind turbine 2

Seattle inventor Chad Maglaque has a dream. A dream that he will one day be able to walk into a big-box store and purchase a rooftop wind turbine along with his giant jar of mayonnaise.

And surprisingly, his dream may not be so far off. Maglaque has actually put together just such a wind turbine, which he’s named The Jellyfish, and he could soon be cashing a $10 million check to make many, many more. How? Maglaque submitted the design to Google’s "Project 10 to the 100th" contest, which honors the company’s 10th birthday by offering five innovators $10 million for simple ideas that could change the world. The categories for the contest range from energy and environment to health and education, and even a catch-all category for "everything else."

Of course, hundreds of thousands of other ideas have also been submitted, and Google folks are still narrowing down the top picks. But starting March 17, the public will be able to vote for their favorite idea out of the 20 semi-finalists. You can even ask Google to remind you to vote.

Right now, Maglaque’s wind-turbine video is one of the most viewed. (See a clip below.) And he insists his invention meets the "simple" criteria: the 3-foot turbine is made from a motor similar to a blender’s, mounts directly onto the roof, and gets plugged into an electrical socket. But instead of drawing electricity, it would generate power and deliver it back to the grid.

Maglaque says it won’t be enough to power an entire house, but could light a home using high-efficiency bulbs. Sounds like a bright idea ...

• Comments