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People Power. Smith,
J. 1 June 2004. Ecologist Online.
www.theecologist.org, then search for
“people power.” (Magazine article)
Unique in its approach this article focuses on a
community-led, grassroots effort that formed a limited liability company
to build their own energy-generating wind turbine. In understated
language, the author describes how anyone who is motivated can initiate
a grand scheme for effecting change on a scale much larger than
anticipated at the outset.
Build a Wind Turbine
From Scratch (part 1). Bartman, D. and D. Fink. 2005. BackHome
Magazine. 74:36-39. (Magazine article)
Fink and Bartman have years of practical experience
constructing electric, power-generating wind turbines so if there was
another way to offset our dependence on fossil fuels, this could be it.
This article details instructions, step-by-step, for building a wind
turbine from scratch for hundreds of dollars less than the cheapest
commercial model which costs about $1,500 US dollars.
The chief obstacle with wind turbines is the
intermittent nature of the power source (wind). A good wind turbine
needs to have the best low wind power generation capacity possible while
also being able to survive high winds. The basic design method of these
dual purposes is a wind catching “tail” system that rises when wind
speeds get too high. As it rises, it is rigged to twist the blades out
of the main force of the wind. The overall construction appears rather
simple, but part two of the series discusses an electric motor hook up
to make this design even better.
If you are thinking about installing a wind turbine,
this article actually informs us on how to assemble and install one kind
of turbine called the Savonius Wind Turbine. Though it does not produce
as much energy as the more common Horizontal Axis Turbine, the Savonius
Turbine (ST) is simple to build using tools and parts commonly found
around the house or shop. Though the ST does not appear to be a
permanent mechanism, and it produces minimal amounts of energy, if you
are just beginning to consider using wind as an alternative energy
source this article can help you put ideas in motion.
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