Renewable energy has dramatically changed the global perceptions with technological advancements, adaptability and innovation. Both developing and developed nations are embracing energy derived from non-conventional sources as the benefits from the zero-carbon emitting sources are ginormous.

Researchers at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, in cooperation with Eolgreen have developed the first autonomous industrialized public lighting system that runs on solar and the wind energy. The system can be installed in urban parks, inter-urban motorways and other public areas. The 10 meters high lighting system comes with a solar panel, a wind turbine and a battery. The turbine can kick off at wind speeds as low as 1.7 m/s and has a maximum output of 400 W. Barcelona's beach is being lit up with these innovative street lights that can power 6 nights of electricity with no wind or sun.

Eva is the first evaporation-powered car that runs on a turbine engine rotating as water evaporates from the wet paper lining the walls of the engine. Scientists at columbia university have developed this novel device that derives power directly from evaporation. Bacterial spores that shrink and swell with changing humidity can exert force on other objects. A miniature floating, piston-driven engine was made by gluing the spores together. As the water evaporates from the surface the piston creates a reciprocating motion controlled by changing humidity. A self sustaining movement of the engine produces electricity when connected to a generator. The researchers used this concept to build a small toy car to roll on its own, powered only by evaporation.

"Saphonian" is a bladeless, rotationless Zero-Blade wind turbine that follows a back and forth 3D knot motion, largely inspired from sailboats. This technology was developed by a Tunisian startup called Saphon Energy. The turbine moves in a figure eight as it catches the wind, converting that motion to energy. With bladeless engineered technology, saphonian doesn't interfere with radar or magnetic waves and doesn't even produce the humming noise, unlike the large turbines with blades. Initial field tests suggest that this technology is twice as effiecient and superior to a similarly sized traditional turbine. The company has inked deal with India for construction of a Saphonian Park.

The 'WindTree', built and designed by a french company NewWind. The 30 feet tall fake tree is made of 54 spinning green-colored leaf-shaped mini turbines called "Aeroleafs". Each Aeroleaf can reap a spin around their vertical axes with wind speeds as low as 4.5mph. The Aeroleafs, just over 3 feet tall produces electricity with micro-turbulence. Each Aeroleaf has the capability to generate 100 watts of power. However, the field report suggest that each WindTree costing $55,350 can produce between 1,000 and 2,000 kilowatt hours of energy per year on an average. NewWind has already installed seven WindTrees throughout Germany, Switzerland, and France.

IceWind, a Reykjavik-based startup company has two designs in production for use in both extreme weather conditions and low-wind areas. Models are manufactured in 300W, 600W and 1,000W versions at 10 m/s and have a power production range of 2-60 m/s+—but are scalable to customers’ specific needs. The turbines require virtually no maintenance claims the company. The turbines are manufactured by hand from stainless steel, carbon fiber and high-strength aluminum. The wind turbines are available for purchase in 2016 in Iceland and in selected locations internationally in 2017. Well, check out the video!