Merry Lea Home Page | Constructing Rieth Village | Sustainable Features

More Information about Our Wind Generator Rieth Village 10/4/05

Merry Lea’s wind generator is a BWC EXCEL model, produced by the Bergey Windpower Co., Norman, OK, a leading manufacturer of small business and residential wind systems.

Base (1) that attaches to the tower is at right. Blades attach at 2. Generator is inside the yellow case.

The blades attach directly to the outside shell of the EXCEL’s purpose-built direct drive 38-pole permanent magnet (PM) alternator.  The alternator has an “inside-out” configuration in that the outer shell (containing the magnets) rotates about the fixed internal stator structure.  Thus, the alternator incorporates the rotor hub, has no central rotating shaft, puts the front bearing in the rotor plane,and has no brushes.  The output is a sinusoidal three-phase alternating current that varies in voltage and frequency with wind speed. http://www.kansaswindpower.net/bergey_wind_generators.htm(10/4/05)

 

The inverter changes DC current (direct current) coming from the wind turbine into AC (alternating current) which feeds into the electrical panel and powers the buildings.

Excess power (electricity) is fed back onto the grid maintained by Noble REMC, the local utility.

 

January 24, 2006
   
   

The rotor on the EXCEL has three pultruded fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) blades which are rigidly attached at their hubs.  The EXCEL blades are flexible in torsion and have a unique pitch weight attached to their outboard leading edge.  The patented Powerflex® blade system provides passive blade pitching as a function of rotor speed.  Thus, the blades are set for a higher pitch to aid start-up, but “flatten out” at speed to improve operating aerodynamic efficiency.  The airfoil used on the EXCEL is a proprietary design (BW-3) developed specifically for low Reynolds Number conditions.  This thin, highly cambered section is not affected by normal dust and residue build-up on the blade leading edge. http://www.kansaswindpower.net/bergey_wind_generators.htm

(10/4/05)

  
 

The 100- foot steel tower is anchored in a block of concrete four feet deep and 16 feet square, a size sufficient to hold the tower against the maximum expected wind gusts for our area (70 mph).

Workmen adjust the nuts on the base so the tower will be in plumb (10/4/05)

 
 
   

Based on the wind resources at Merry Lea’s site, the generator is expected to produce approximately 14,000 kilowatts of electricity per year.

 

(10/4/05)
     

 

Merry Lea’s engineer, Alan Chalifoux of Eta Engineers, has calculated that simple payback on Merry Lea’s wind generator (compared to the cost of other energy) will require 17.8 years. The wind turbine, meanwhile, is expected to last 35 years.

Chalifoux places the rate of return on investment at 23%.

(10/4/05)
     

The wind generator has been funded in part by grants from the United Service Foundation and from the Energy Group, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, State of Indiana.

(10/4/05)
     

Noble REMC, the local utility company will meter the electricity produced by the wind generator and purchase some of the power when more is generated than Merry Lea can use. Llikewise, Merry Lea will draw on Noble REMC when wind resources are not adequate. “Our energy cooperative has not had a client install a wind generator in quite some time,” commented Ron Raypole, manager of engineering and construction at Noble REMC. “This is a new venture for us and we are eagar to see how it plays out.”

(10/4/05)
     

Even when the CO2 generated by manufacturing wind turbines is included, wind energy’s emissions of CO2 are on the order of 1% of coal or 2% of natural gas per unit of electricity generated. An operating wind generator produces no pollution.


A 10K wind generator is effective in any area that is not sheltered by hills and has a Department of Energy wind class of at least 2. All of northern Indiana fits this description. (10/4/05)