A good friend of mine is director of business development at Leviathan Energy. Unlike competitors in the field of wind energy, Leviathan’s technology controls the air around the turbine rather than just improving the motor. The net result is a 20%+ benefit in extra energy.

Neat. So when the company invited me to attend a ceremony this week with the Israeli Minister of Infrastructure, I was curious to find out more. It turns out that Leviathan’s Wind Lotus turbine has been connected to the country’s national grid in a pilot project.

It is too early to assess the long term economic and social benefits of this new source of alternative energy. According to one report: –

The wind energy market was recently enabled by a new feed-in tariff of NIS 1.65 (US$0.40) per kilowatt hour for 20 years. A feed-in tariff is a guaranteed rate the government will buy all of the electricity produced for 20 years. It is a financial mechanism used to encourage renewable energy industries like wind and solar until the costs drop enough for them to become competitively priced with fossil fuels like coal and natural gas.

Leviathan shows what can be done when a determined entrepreneur struggles against the odds. We can look forward to seeing how it now moves forward as it looks to become an established company on the global cleantech scene.