First-Of-Its-Kind Windmill Produces AC Power

First-Of-Its-Kind Windmill Produces AC Power ENERGY Miscellaneous It looks much like an ordinary windmill but instead of pumping water this new-style windmill produces AC electricity And it can do so in winds of more than 100 mph without damaging anything The patented Phoenix 10 kw windmill was on display at the recent Husker Harvest show near Grand Island Neb Mounted on a trailer it can be easily transported to different locations It’s also available as a stationary model A 25 kw Genesis stationary model is also available The unit stands on a tall triangular metal tower and has a big fan assembly and tail on top that catches the wind It drives a gearbox and driveline that chain-drives a generator An electrical outlet box mounts above the generator “People have tried to make this idea work for many years and we’ve finally figured it out ” says Don Newell Hawkeye Wind LLC Cheyenne Wyo “My dad Jerry Morel and I have both ranched most of our lives and have always been around windmills We’ve designed a built-in braking mechanism that slows everything down so the driveline doesn’t rotate too fast and cause the generator to overrev The Phoenix model is designed to begin producing power in 18 mph winds and is rated at its full 10kw production at wind speeds of 40 mph Even in gale force winds it’ll continue producing its rated full load of power By pressing a button you can stop the driveline completely and even lower it to the ground to protect it from the wind “So far we’ve built and sold just a couple of units but there’s a lot of interest in it You can use the generator to operate shop tools pump water and even help power a center pivot sprinkler system It has no problem providing power to a 1 200 sq ft home and operating all the appliances in it ” The bottom part of the windmill frame is hinged and connected to a hydraulic cylinder so you can lower the windmill to the ground for maintenance work “We expect that you’ll only have to bring the tower down once a year or so to check fluid levels in the gearbox ” says Newell The Phoenix A 10 kw model sells for $26 900 and the 25 kw Genesis model for $45 000 Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Hawkeye Wind LLC Cheyenne Wyo ph 307 275-2654; wyowind2@hotmail com

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