Evan Robinson is a young professional in Cleveland, Ohio and a graduate of The College of Wooster with a degree in chemistry. He recently presented his Wind Powered Connectivity project at the Cleveland Leadership Center’s Accelerate competition. You can visit the competition’s page on the Cleveland Leadership Center’s website here. Chosen as one of the top 25 applicants, his pitch was entered through the competition’s Community Change category. Evan sat down with NinthandSuperior to discuss his ideas, and he provided a gnarly interview!
You can donate to his project here if you’re enthusiastic about his idea to improve our future with renewable energy.
- So what’s the product/design that you’re working on?
The Wind Powered Connectivity project will feature small turbines around downtown Cleveland harnessing wind energy to generate power for discrete power stations. The charge stations will be compatible with mobile devices such as cell phones, tablets and eReaders, music players, handheld games consoles, camera/video cameras, and auxiliary batteries. The windmills will feature a practical and aesthetic design that can function as public art. They will offer displays for relevant information and wifi. The charging stations would stimulate interaction between people and draw attention to the benefits of green energy.
- How did you come up with that idea?
If you have ever spent any time in downtown Cleveland, then you know the wind blows like crazy. In the summer it’s nice to catch a cool breeze but in the winter it can make a cold day unbearable. In December of 2017, I was walking downtown and got smacked in the face with a gust of wind and thought this was too powerful of a resource to bemoan every winter. How can we turn a nuisance into a benefit? That’s when I thought we should use the power that the wind generates to energize phones. I’ve also been inebriated downtown with a dead cell phone and it’s the most hopeless feeling.
- What’d you get your degree in?
I have a degree in Chemistry from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. It’s a small liberal art school that is known for its undergraduate research program. The liberal arts concept allowed me to explore interest outside of my major.
- Did you end up building it? Did it work as well as you wanted it to?
I’m in the process of designing a prototype. There’s so many factors to consider with a device like what I’m proposing. Obviously there needs to be a facade that can withstand high winds but also offer some level of portability. There also needs to a battery system that would allow charging no matter the wind conditions. Most importantly, it has to look dope and interesting so that it’ll draw people’s interest and curiosity that you typically find with public displays of art. I’m crowd sourcing funds to help pay for a initial prototype. I’m using a site called Ioby. They gives leaders the ability to organize all kinds of capital—cash, social networks, in-kind donations, volunteers, advocacy— to build real, lasting change from the ground up. So if any of your readers are interested and want to help, you can donate to my project here.
- I saw you presented it at Accelerate NEO. How did you find out about it? What category was your pitch for?
After the genesis of my idea happened in December, I sat on the idea with little motivation to pursue it very much. Approximately a month later, I was scrolling through Twitter and saw a post by the Cleveland Leadership Center about a pitch competition for people looking to do some good civically. I thought my charge station idea would be perfect. I entered into the Community Change category because I felt like this was the best fit. I feel like at a glance my project might seem like a luxury and doesn’t necessarily address a pressing civic need, but access to sustainable and affordable energy is an issue that is overlooked.
- How was the event and presentation? Were you nervous about anything? Did you win?
The competition was a real blessing. I thought the idea was solid, but having my project chosen really added some credence that this idea was viable. I was extremely nervous but I thought the presentation went well. I lost to a very solid idea promoting entrepreneurship to the disenfranchised youths of Cleveland. After looking back at old Accelerate winners and seeing who won this year, it seems as though the projects that offer services and/or programs showed better with the judges. I also thought that since my idea was a bit fresh and underdeveloped, that this may have hurt my chances of winning. I plan on re-entering this competition until I win!
- What do you think about the future of renewable energy? Do you see a specific type of renewable energy beating out the rest?
Fossil fuels are slowly dwindling in supply and the evidence for their role in global warming is overwhelming. The development of renewable resources will provide substantial benefits for our climate, health, and economy. I do believe that renewable energy has become politicized, just like everything else in the US. So I do think with the current administration, there will be barriers for renewable energy that have nothing to do with how economical and/or sustainable they actually are. Wind power seems to have the most push back from the public because of the potential noise, safety concerns, and maintenance required. However, I do think that a combination of wind and solar energy will be the future.
- Do you like Tesla?
I like the electric car concepts. I do think they have a head start to the inevitability of electric cars. I’d like to see my own project potentially expand and offer power to charge electric and hybrid vehicles. As far as autonomous driving goes, I’m on the fence. I’m one of those people that thinks driving can be enjoyable. Northeast Ohio has some dope back roads that are fun to drive. Although, I can see the feature being useful when you are in heavy traffic or driving down relatively straight roads.
- Any design ideas for products in the future?
I really want to code an app of some sort. So I’m diligently learning how to code from the free information available online.
- Dream job?
My dream job would be a high powered executive, where my only real responsibility would be to pick between “option a” and “option b”. I’ve noticed from working on this project, that I like focusing on the vision and the big picture as opposed to working out minute details.
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