North Shore Beach
BUDDY'S WIND AND SOLAR EXPERIENCE
March, 2013
Reference: Last 5 years of
wind/solar generator research.
June 2008, I found Mariah Power in Nevada. They build a 1.2kw generator 4ft in diameter and 20 ft. high blades. (There are 2 of these now installed in Eden Isles) The generator is design for an average wind of 12 mph. Louisiana has only 8 mph overall average wind speed. (I know this is hard to believe living out here at Northshore Beach).
Mariah Power told me they were going to build a low wind version shortly that would be better for me then their present production model. It would be 6 ft. in Diameter and 20 ft. tall blades. By Sept. 2009 after Mariah Power open a factory in Michigan and declared they were building 20 prototypes of the low wind version I sent in my deposit.
I checked with Cleco about installing a net meter since my design was for a Grid-Tie Inverter. Meaning any extra power made by my Generator would go back into the power grid and turn my meter backwards. This would lower my kilowatt hour use and my bill. I had to fill out several pages of data on their forms but since my design was not completed I had to wait for the equipment to put the model numbers and sizes of the parts used.
I checked with the Parish for a building permit and was told they had no idea what I was talking about and my Councilman did some checking and came to the conclusion no permit was required since they
have nothing on the books about what to do. OK so I started my designs to meet regulations set up by the National Electrical codes in NEC handbook.
Of course while I was waiting for the Mariah power generator I got foundation plans for the biggest generator and tallest tower Mariah Power had designs for and built the foundation in June 2009. I knew I would be using this generator in one design or another so I setup the foundation for several configurations. Photos attached.
In April 2010 it was shipped By way of container. My son-in-law has his designs built in China and shipped to Slidell. He designs and has built salt water aquarium products in China and buys them by the container. There was room in the container so they loaded it up and shipped.
I turned my attention to what inverter I would need to make the installation. Mariah Power
had the Inverter built-in the generator so all I had to do there was connect to my electrical panel and throw the switch. Acemade is just a generator, no electronics. It creates 3 phase AC at a voltage
dependent on the wind. It must be rectified (to a DC voltage) to be inserted into an Inverter that
creates
220 VAC 60 hertz. Acemade recommended the Aurora Power model PVI-3.0-OUTD-US-W, Photos attached, install at my house.
After deciding about all the parts I was buying I filled out the Cleco paper work and Cleco told
me the
Parish now has Permit requirments for wind and solar
generators and I must get a permit first, make the installation then close the permit and submit it to Cleco before the Net meter could be installed.
Next we attached the generator to the top of
the tower and started work on installing the blades. My
nephew Sean, and Marcel are shown doing that below.
The generator is now ready to pull up into place.
To my disappointment the blades never turned. I
knew it was difficult to rotate but I assumed it was because
of the magnetic levitation mechanism in the generator. You
see the design suppose to ride on a field of magnets thereby
minimizing drag and friction from bearings etc. I thought
putting all the weight on the generator would float the
system and start turning. It was not until weeks later I
found the magnets in the generator broke loose and caused it
to lock up.
A new generator was shipped from the factory to me.
Acemade is replacing it. They had me do some tests but
ultimately found there was no fixing it. They built another
with a newer design they just developed and had it sent to
where my son-in-law was loading another container and it is
now on the way to Slidell.
Mar.2011, 2nd Generator
arrived and installed.
Apr. 2011, Half of the blades ripped apart and broke during a wind storm. The
generator never really put out much power and
now with half the blades it is totally useless.
July 2011, Bought a new drag type
design generator from JF energy in China. Seems to work OK
but it never really got up to the correct speed to turn the
inverter on. Same problem Wind speeds are just not good in
Louisiana. Plus
as the first generator had trouble with the turbulence this
generator was even worst.
also. Best money I ever spent. They generate around 12-14kwh of power
lift blade design from Bofeng in China. This design does generate power and is far better than the
first 2 designs but as always Louisiana just does not have enough wind consistently to be
efficient. These blades may fair better if put higher but because I built the
