Dr. Shashank Priya thinks he has the solution to this problem, in the form of miniature windmills that can provide adequate power from breezes as faint as 10 MPH. Priya’s 4-inch diameter ‘mills differ from their larger counterparts in that they employ piezoelectric crystals which generate a current when flexed by a rotating cam. Were he to have used the conventional generators found in regular windmills, his minimills would only achieve one percent efficiency, as opposed to the 18 percent they can reach using the piezoelectric materials.