New Mill Harvests Low-Speed Winds

New Mill Harvests Low-Speed Winds ENERGY Wind Power 5-6-4 Here's a new-style windmill from Denmark that's capable of harvesting up to 10 KW of electricity from winds varying from 8 to 30 mph. It's also been tested to survive winds up to 100 mph, says the manufacturer. The new S.J. Wind-Power windmill's rotor is 22 ft. in dia. It consists of 16 fixed-pitch vanes made of lightweight urethane foam over a sheet metal blade. Each vane weighs about 4 lbs. "Even if a vane should break off the lightweight rotor, the windmill can still operate," points out John Cuddy, vice president of T. Jensen Associates, Inc., the American distributor in Cannon Falls, Minn. "With a 2 or 3 bladed windmill, you need an exceptionally strong hub and, if a blade malfunctions, the mill has to be shut down," Cuddy points out. "This mill is designed to harvest more low speed winds than 2 or 3 bladed mills. The Wind-Power works best in 25 to 30 mph winds," he told FARM SHOW, "but it's also efficient at slower, more normal speeds." The Wind-Power produces 380V, 3-phase electricity which can be used with heat coils, for direct electric heat, or changed with an inverter to household 110V AC current. Cuddy hopes to sell the Wind-Power as a winter heating source where an inverter would not be needed. He expects a 10-year payback period for the mill. A hydraulic governor system turns the mill rotor out of the wind when the current produced reaches an overload level. "Our test model has survived actual 70 and 80 mph winds. The only problem we had was when one of the storms contained some hail which chipped off some paint on the vanes," Cuddy notes. Cost of the Wind-Power mill is $17,500 with a 50 ft. tower. An inverter for producing 110V house current is available for about $5,000 extra. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, T. Jensen Associates, Inc., Rt. 2, Cannon Falls, Minn. 55009 (ph 507 263-3794).

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