Here at the ‘Brick we’re always on the lookout for gadgets that can give us sweet gadget juice, without it costing money on our electric bills. So we checked out Kinesis’ K3 power generator. The device sports both a windmill and solar cells, plus you can charge its internal battery with external electricity sources. So you can charge its 4,000 mAh battery using a USB adapter or a car cigarette lighter if you absolutely need power on hand.

According to the company, one hour of sun and wind will give you 30 minutes of talk time on a cellphone. Fully charged, the K3 can load the battery cells for an average mobile phone five times, or an MP3 player more than ten times. It costs $100.

Generating power by free methods is the Holy Grail for the green power movement. For consumers it could one day mean that we get power for our homes and gadgets for free from the sun or the wind. Wind power is controversial because the massive wind turbines are ugly and make the area where they are installed look bad to some people.

A company called Green Energy Technologies has announced a new wing-generating power plant that is designed to be fitted onto the roof of a building. The WindCube can be installed in singles or as a pair. A single unit generates 60kW of power while a dual unit generates 120kW.

One day after the robots have had their way with us and the zombies have attacked, you’ll be glad you have your trusty steam powered iPod charger. How else are you going to listen to your tunes, with civilization as you know it destroyed?

The creator attached a Lego Technic Motor to a Jensen #75 steam engine to make this crude generator. Then he built a 5V regulator circuit and soldered in a female USB connection to power any USB device. The end result is a steam powered iPod charger. What does this mean? This guy will be chilling with tunes while you are fending off zombies who want some brain food.

Some scientists from the U.S. and Canada have teamed up to create a new knee brace that generates electricity from your steps. The brace takes advantage of the stop energy that occurs after swinging the knee forward which would otherwise dissipate as heat, much like braking on an electric or hybrid car.

According to the initial studies on the 3.5 pound prototype, a person walking at 2.2 mph was able to create around 5 watts of electricity while wearing a brace on each leg. The researchers state that this device can generate enough electricity to power as many as 10 cell phones, or possibly a small laptop. Some practical future applications include using the knee-mounted generator for campers or soldiers who are not near electricity to power up GPS devices or satellite phones.