Zach Patton is a GOVERNING senior editor. He writes about a range of topics, including education, social policy issues, and urban planning and design. Patton is also the editor of GOVERNING's Management e-newsletter.
E-mail: zpatton@governing.com
From the Of-Course!-Why-Haven't-We-Thought-About-This-Before? Department: A company in the Netherlands has installed what it calls the world's first device that uses the motion of a revolving door to generate energy.
The door in this case is the entrance to the Driebergen-Zeist railway station in the central part of the Netherlands. It's a high-traffic spot -- 8,500 commuters use the station every day.
The door is expected to generate about 6,400 kwh of energy a year, roughly equal to the needs of one household.
So it's nothing huge. But it's a brilliant way to capture energy from an action that's already occurring thousands of times a day.
Zach Patton is a GOVERNING senior editor. He writes about a range of topics, including education, social policy issues, and urban planning and design. Patton is also the editor of GOVERNING's Management e-newsletter.
E-mail: zpatton@governing.com 
Written and compiled by staff writers and editors, GOVERNING View is an on-the-ground, and sometimes behind-the-scenes, look at the topics we're covering in print and online. From notes on what's up in statehouses, county courthouses and city halls, to encounters with people, places and things, GOVERNING View is a window into the side of state and local government you don't always see.
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