better generation

Dunedin based Powerhouse Wind Ltd. are hoping to have their one bladed THINAIR102 available to the commercial market by the latter stages of this year.

The THINAIR102 has undergone testing in Dunedin where operation and power output were confirmed, and is currently being subjected to further testing in Waitati, to ensure that the turbine can be connected to the electricity network through a grid-inter-tied inverter.

Directors Wayne O'Hara, Richard Butler, and Bill Currie joined forces in early 2007, and set out on what was not to be considered more than an ambitious hobby. Nearly three years later, though, this hobby potentially looks set to change the domestic face of microgeneration in New Zealand.

The one rotor is fixed to a 'teetering hub'. It is suggested that this hub can offer a range of benefits not viable on traditional turbines. Significantly, the THINAIR102 can offer increased energy capture capabilities, due to the fact that it shifts to maximise the potential energy offered by changing wind direction.

The THINAIR102 is also said to be able to withstand higher wind speeds. Wayne O'Hara points out that in high wind speeds the teetering hub can effectively hide itself away, positioning itself in to a 'low stress position'.

In addition to the increased energy capture, the cost of the turbine is expected to be dramatically reduced, due to the fact that each rotor on a normal turbine contributes greatly to the overall production cost. A one blade turbine, therefore, could make domestic generation financially viable to a far wider range of person. This, though, is provided they own the one acre of land that is recommended to house the turbine in the first place!

Check out www.powerhousewind.co.nz for more information. Better Generation will be looking to add the THINAIR102 to our database as more information becomes available. Keep checking our database at http://www.bettergeneration.com/wind-turbine-reviews.html