The pressure has been extreme at our manufacturing facility these last few months, as the first Airforce 10 prototypes have emerged from the workshop.

If you want an insight into this feature-rich, technically advanced 10 KW wind turbine, then visit us at the CLA Game Fair at Ragley Hall from 23 – 25th July, where we will be exhibiting on Stand N1093.

Site trials are currently underway of FuturEnergy’s new, intelligent 10KW wind turbine, which will be officially launched later this year.   Airforce 10 has been in development for the past three years and features innovative new technology specifically designed to maximise long term performance, user functionality and safety.  It is anticipated it will be suited to both residential and commercial applications.

Designed to have a power output of 10,248 watts at a wind speed of 9 metres per second, Airforce 10 is highly sensitive to wind conditions, sampling the wind direction and speed every second, in order to automatically fine-tune its yaw. 

Suitable for grid connection and battery systems, Airforce 10 has been approved to go on the Microgeneration Certificate Scheme Transition List pending official certification.

Full details will be available later this year.  In the interim, to lodge your interest and to be kept abreast of developments, please contact the sales office at FuturEnergy Email: sales@futurenergy.co.uk Tel: 01789 451235

Dave Tigwell and his wife were unsurprised when they were told by their local Planners that they could not install a standard wind turbine on their property, as they live in a Grade II listed Long House in an Environmentally Sensitive Area, on a stretch of Heritage Coastline in Cornwall.

Undaunted, they set about designing something more aesthetically pleasing.  They came up with what they call a Hurdy Gurdy, which looks like a cross between a traditional Cornish windmill and an indigenous oast house, and is powered by the wind. The lower part is made from concrete block hung with slate, the upper part is aluminium and spins on two large ball bearings.   Inside are a FuturEnergy 1KW permanent magnet generator, rectifier and Windmaster invertor.

The Hurdy Gurdy stands five metres high with a three metre diameter, on a site which averages 6.3m/second wind speed.  Unfortunately, wind speeds have dropped considerably since fitting the 1KW PMG, and Dave has yet to prove the output of his invention.  However, he is confident, and once tests are completed in the autumn, he plans to add another PMG, with a view to producing a substantial amount of their electricity needs.

You can see the Hurdy Gurdy from the Tinners Way footpath at Newmill near Penzance – it’s quite a talking point with walkers.

We ran a prize draw on our stand at the Homebuilding & Renovating Show at the NEC in March, and can confirm that Chris Sanders of Hertfordshire won the prize of a Better Generation Power Predictor anemometer. Chris is planning to move to Country Cork, where he will need the Power Predictor to identify the best location to site a wind turbine, estimate its potential annual energy output and the cost savings he can potentially make.

http://www.futurenergy.co.uk/turbine.html

Well actually, life is pretty busy for renewable energy specialist Derek Andrews and his company A M I, based in Brittany.  He is successfully tapping into the green “eco warrior”  market, and his hybrid wind and solar systems appeal to those, who really have an aversion to paying so much to EDF Energy.

Monsieur Ledru, aged 75+, is a small-time market gardener and retired agricultural engineer, and uses electricity for pumping water from an underground rainwater tank, watering his plants in his poly tunnels, perimeter security lighting and a fridge/freezer.  At their client’s request, A M I has fixed two FuturEnergy 12V turbines (1012) to either side of his garage/workshop, and installed 800W of solar panels and a 12V 2000Ah Rolls Surette S460 battery.

AMI’s stand at a recent organic farmer’s exhibition is shown here, complete with a FuturEnergy 24V turbine (1024), and 120Ah battery, which provided all their energy requirements (and those of three neighbouring exhibitors’ tents) and was an excellent way to promote the company's expertise.

On the residential front, Monsieur Gaussell is now the proud owner of a FuturEnergy 24V turbine (1024), 400W of photovoltaic, 24V 1200 AH battery and 12m² of solar hot water panels, with a view to providing all the energy requirements for his 160m² family home and for the lighting and TV for his sister’s family, who live in a Mongolian Yourt (tent), on his land.

www.ami-enr.fr.gd

A couple of years ago we reported on the installation of a FuturEnergy high-power wind turbine at a site overlooking the Teifi estuary, West Wales.  'Penwhilwr’, a two storey straw house, went on to win the title of Britain's Best Eco-Home in the Grand Design Awards.  

Rachel Shiamh, designer and owner of the property, will be hosting a Sustainable Living Open Day on 28th August with talks, workshops, cafe, and stalls.  Visitors will also be able to see, at close quarters, the property’s hybrid energy installation, which comprises a one-kilowatt FuturEnergy wind turbine supplemented by five 125-watt Kyocera solar PV (photovoltaic) panels, plus an insulated battery bank of eight six-volt cells, with a 24-volt output inverted to produce a standard 240-volt AC supply.