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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy Bringing Light to the Edge of the World: blueEnergy's Adventures Building Micro Wind Turbines on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy Background Products and Services A Look at a Typical System Nuts and Bolts of the Turbine Customers Get Involved and Contact
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy Where?
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy Background What is blueEnergy and what does it do? Family history in Nicaragua Interest in wind power blueEnergy the idea: MIT Development Entrepreneurship class Birth of blueEnergy: a 501(c)3 public charity with a twist Where we stand today Where we are headed
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy The blueEnergy Approach Focus on building lasting, local solution: - Use appropriate technology - Build local capacity - Long-term commitment Understanding and respect for local way of life blueEnergy’s systems are implemented using a variety of models, each of which can be characterized along the following dimensions: Location (urban, semi-urban, rural), constituency served (private, public), ownership (blueEnergy, private, public), management/operation (blueEnergy, private, public), and physical configuration (battery charging station, fixed battery bank, dual-use).
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy The blueEnergy Turbine Base design from Hugh Piggott of Scoraig Wind Electric; school of “heavy metal” Designed from the ground up for ease of construction, robustness and optimized for energy production in low winds Axial-flux alternator vs. more common radial-flux designs Ease of construction -> ease of maintenance -> low-cost over lifetime
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy Background Products and Services A Look at a Typical System Nuts and Bolts of the Turbine Customers Get Involved and Contact
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy blueEnergy Products
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy blueEnergy Services
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy Key Points Isolation: A brief history of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua blueEnergy is nonprofit with a focus on sustainability not on maximizing sales On a technical note: The difference between power (W or kW) and energy (Wh or kWh): - Power: The rate of doing some useful work. It is an instantaneous measurement; by analogy, can be thought of as water flow rate into a storage tank. -Energy: The amount of power expended (or generated) over a period of time, i.e Energy = Power x Time; by analogy, can be thought of as amount of water stored given a specific flow rate over a specified time period.
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy Background Products and Services A Look at a Typical System Nuts and Bolts of the Turbine Customers Get Involved and Contact
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy The Nuts & Bolts of the Wind Turbine Blade Rotor
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy The Nuts & Bolts of the Wind Turbine Alternator
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy The Nuts & Bolts of the Wind Turbine Body and Tail
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy The Nuts & Bolts of the Wind Turbine Tower
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy Background Products and Services A Look at a Typical System Nuts and Bolts of the Turbine Customers Get Involved and Contact
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy A Typical blueEnergy System
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy A Typical blueEnergy System Wind Turbine and Tower 12 ft diameter rotor (6 ft blades), 3-phase, 24 V wind turbine 60 - 100 ft tilt-up tower; lattice towers only used in cases where space is limited because of high cost Anchors for guy wires are a mix of rebar mesh, metal bar, concrete and dirt and are generally 6 ft deep, 2 ft across, 4 ft wide
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy A Typical blueEnergy System Power Center System regulation, energy storage and energy conversion Community charging station vs. fixed battery bank PV modules generally integrated into power center structure
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy A Typical blueEnergy System Power Center Charge controller - BRAIN Batteries - HEART Breakers and dump load - SECURITY
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy A Typical blueEnergy System Household Not physically tied to power center due to cost of distribution lines over great distances Home electrification kits available from blueEnergy through micro-loan program in partnership with ADEPHCA Users carry batteries to charging station and charge them for a fee
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy A Typical Energy System: Cost Fixed SystemCharging Station Home Electrification 12 ft diameter, 24 V turbine (rated 1 kW at 12 m/s) @ $1,500 + 60 ft tilt-up tower @ $1,500 N/A 100 W solar panel @ $700 N/A 60 A capacity charge controller @ $250 10 A, for low voltage disconnect @ $25 440 AH (x8 Trojan T-105, 220 AH, 6 V) @ $1,200 N/A 105 AH Trojan 27 TM @ $110 2,400 W, 24 V (Xantrex DR2424) @ $1,000 N/A $500 (breakers, wiring, etc) $45 $1,500 $10 $500 $10 $2,500 (5 year operator training and servicing agreement: site visits every 6 months @ $250 per visit) $2 per charge $11,150 (does not include tax) $8,950 (does not include tax) $200 + charging fee (does not include tax) Misc. Parts Installation Transport Service TOTAL
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy A Typical Energy System: Cost Comparison
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy A Typical Energy System: Power Curve
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy A Typical Energy System: Wind Resource Monthly variations: August, September, November are low months; December, January, February are high months Site variations: Wind resource is highly site-dependent; a study should be performed at each site where a considerable energy system investment is to be made Power in wind is related to cube of wind speed => doubling of wind speed means eight times the available power
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy A Typical Energy System: Energy Production February is an above average wind month Average per day turbine production over the year: ~ 3,200 Wh 100 W solar panel will add ~ 350 Wh per day Average total daily energy production of 3,550 kWh Energy Production for blueEnergy 12 ft Turbine (@ 60 ft height) - February 2 to February 23, 2007 NOTE: Data was not collected on February 5, 12, 18, 19
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy A Typical Energy System: Energy Use As shown in the previous slide, a typical system produces 3,550 watt-hours of energy per day on average. Assuming a 90% Charge/Discharge Efficiency, What Can You Do With 3,195 watt-hours of Energy? You could run a light (15 W) or a radio (15 W) for 213 hours You could run a light (15 W) and a radio (15 W) or a small high-efficiency refrigerator (30 W) for 106 hours You could run a laptop (40 W) or a small television (40 W) for 80 hours You could run 3 lights (45 W), a radio (15 W), a laptop (40 W) and a small high-efficiency freezer (30 W) for 24 hours - i.e. all day
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy Background Products and Services A Look at a Typical System Nuts and Bolts of the Turbine Customers Get Involved and Contact
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy Potential Customers Rural communities beyond the reach of the electrical grid and semi-urban communities with unreliable electrical grid Development organizations that need energy for their projects but don’t have expertise or capacity in this area: FISE, FADCANIC, Catholic Church Health organizations that need energy for their rural health clinics but have no expertise or capacity in this area: WHO / OPS, MINSA Small business owners that require backup or primary power Individuals
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy Current Project Sites
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy Background Products and Services A Look at a Typical System Nuts and Bolts of the Turbine Customers Get Involved and Contact
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy Get Involved Volunteer (http://www.blueenergygroup.org/MainPages/GetInvolved.html) Tell Your Friends, Family, and Colleagues About blueEnergy Donate (http://www.blueenergygroup.org/MainPages/Donate.html) Attend a Turbine Building Workshop (http://www.scoraigwind.com)
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Google TechTalk Mountain View, California - May 3, 2007 local people, local materials, local energy For more information and to help support our important work, please visit: www.blueenergygroup.org Mathias Craig, Executive Director San Francisco, California, United States mathias.craig@blueenergygroup.org Tel: +1 (202) 744 - 5840 Fax: +1 (801) 730 - 9576 Watch for us on CNN Heroes airing in mid-July! Contact Us Special thanks to Steve Weis and Google for inviting me here today
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