Subsidizing Public Transportation with Speeding Cars

"How many speeding cars does it take to power a lightbulb? For Mark Oberholzer, a runner-up in the 2006 Metropolis Next Generation Design Competition, this might not be such an absurd question. His project proposed integrating ­turbines into the barriers between highway lanes that would harness the wind generated by passing cars to create energy. 'Opposing streams of traffic create really incredible potential in terms of a guaranteed wind source,' Oberholzer says."

"Oberholzer believes Jersey barriers are perfectly positioned to take advantage of the wind that passing cars generate. By replacing sections of solid concrete with Darius turbines he thinks they could harvest enough energy to power a light-rail line."

Thanks to Todd Seidel