| 45 ENERGY Powerhouse Wind Off-grid power systemworks 24/7 T Virginia Wright The system has a turbine on a folding tower, a folding system of PV panels, battery and power conversion equipment. It can be delivered to any site and can be up and running in two to three hours. “If you’re off-grid the idea is that you have photo-voltaic panels plus a turbine both feeding power into a battery which can have power drawn from it as needed.” Slow and steady with an eye on the prize could perhaps best describe Dunedin-based Powerhouse Wind Ltd’s progress towards providing an affordable, single solution for people with off-grid power needs, or remote and difficult-to-access power needs, that can be very tricky to meet. In 2007 the three company directors: electrical engineer Peter Shaw, software developer Richard Butler and mechanical engineer Bill Currie joined forces on developing the first prototype of their small-scale wind-turbine which they see as the ideal way for those using solar power photovoltaic panels (known as PV’s) to plug the gaps when the sun isn’t shining. “PV’s are a fantastic technology,” explains Bill “but it’s at its best obviously in summer and during the daytime and so our goal is to make it possible and easy for people to use wind to fill in the gaps when an alternate source of energy is needed.” The PV plus wind-turbine solution gives off-grid power users a fully renewable option that works 24/7 whether you’re a residential dwelling or a remote communication or scientific site. “Anywhere that needs power that’s difficult to connect to the grid,” says Bill. It could be cell-phone repeaters or the repeaters used for communications by emergency services such as the police or fire-service. “They probably already use solar power but the back-up is likely to be a diesel generator which then needs to have fuel flown or packed in. “Powerhouse Wind are in discussion with various organisations about using their smallscale wind-turbines as a viable, sustainable, alternative. It took a year of development to build their first working prototype and another couple to get the first 10 prototype turbines built and set up around Dunedin and the South Island for testing and continued improvements. In fact it’s more than just the turbine, it’s all the parts needed for a complete system to allow the power to be used at the other end. “You need the turbine, the mast or tower it sits on, the foundation, cabling, as well as the controller to run the system and a converter that allows the power to either be stored into a battery or be run directly to the end-user,” says Bill. “If you’re off-grid the idea is that you have photo-voltaic panels plus a turbine both feeding power into a battery which can have power drawn from it as needed.” Their most recent development recognizes that people want a complete system that makes integrating the wind and sun energy with the battery easy. Powerhouse Winds Ltd. have come up with a complete solution that fits into a container frame. “It has a turbine on a folding tower, a folding system of PV panels, a battery, and power-conversion equipment. It can be delivered to any site and can be up and running within two or three hours and delivering power.” Their hope is that this integrated system will make it easier for people to adopt and they’re confident the market is there and growing. “There’s quite a few situations in New Zealand where existing lines are becoming uneconomic,” says Bill. “Where there might be 10’s of kilometres of line crossing hills and trees to go into two or three households, making it unreliable. “Then for people who buy their dream property but there’s no power to the gate, it might cost them anywhere from 80,000 to 200,000 dollars to connect, with monthly power bills to follow, so we offer them a viable option. “They can invest in one of our products for what we expect will be somewhere around 70,000 dollars for the whole lot and they have a reliable, renewable system, designed to be monitored online from anywhere in the country, that offers many years of trouble-free power.’ In the meantime you can connect a smallscale wind turbine for around $20,000, but their vision is to see thousands of fully integrated systems operating all over New Zealand making it easy for people to get the electricity they need in a renewable and sustainable way regardless of where they are. Kiwi designed, engineered and manufactured Quiet, elegant and affordable wind energy solution Live remotely and retain the bene ts of a reliable electricity supply Thinair reduces your dependency on central grid power Annual energy output at an average wind speed 5m/s = 3250kWh • • • • • Safe and reliable in extreme wind conditions $19,000 ex GST includes controller, turbine, tower, 3kw grid tie inverter, installation costs additional POWER YOURLIFESTYLE POWERHOUSE WIND www.powerhousewind.co.nz contact@powerhousewind.co.nz The power of strong connections Proudly supporting Powerhouse Wind Kyle Cameron kycameron@deloitte.co.nz Otago House, 481 Moray Place, Dunedin www.deloitte.co.nz
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