Wind Turbines Manufactured in Galway

mchammer · 15-05-2009 10:52AM #1

Just wondering if anyone knew anymore about this supposed pioneering breakthrough i.e. whats new about it? whats the intended market for these turbines manufactured in Galway? Whats the quality like? Will they be selling direct to public or through resellers?? What will they retail at? Are they in partnership??

For me there are are lots of questions still!:)

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2009/0515/1224246567019.html

Cheeble · 15-05-2009 12:26PM

It sounds like another axial flux generator application, there are a number already on the market and they do indeed have a lower cut-in speed.

However, the point about low wind speeds is that there isn't any power to harvest. Having a cut in speed of 1.2m/s instead of 3.5m/s won't make a massive difference to the overall annual output, maybe 3% or so.

Delivering power 350 days a year doesn't really help if it's only 5 watts!

As for powering the race village, it's a good PR stunt, but I bet they haven't risked going off-grid with it.

The impression given is that they'll all be manufactured in Ireland, but they already have manufacturing plants in China, the Phillipines and the Czech Republic.

I always cringe when I hear about yet another, "revolutionary" new technology in wind power: they come out at the rate of about two a week.

Cheeble-eers

bladespin · 15-05-2009 12:57PM

As Cheeble says it's most likely their generator is axial or radial flux (like Turbotricity's

, already in production in Ireland :eek:)

I would like to correct them on a couple of points:

It's not the first wind turbine on the Irish market to use this.
It's not the first Irish designed wind trubine either.

Good PR for the industry though, probably got a nice lump off Enterprise Ireland to boot

.

Apparently they're apparently aiming their turbines at commercial applications like dairy farms etc. Starting price isn't revolutionary either, at €20k it's not bringing wind power to the masses.

Pembily · 18-05-2009 07:25PM

They are being manufactured to give a greater efficiency. They are working on new technology that hasn’t been put in that makes is much quieter!! What they are doing has not fully been released but it is going to make a big impact on the wind turbine industry...

quentingargan · 19-05-2009 06:38AM

Cheeble wrote: »

Having a cut in speed of 1.2m/s instead of 3.5m/s won't make a massive difference to the overall annual output, maybe 3% or so.

Delivering power 350 days a year doesn't really help if it's only 5 watts!

Cheeble-eers

You're right about this. The output at 1.5m/sec will at best be 1/8th of the normal 3m/sec cut in output. Our 2.5kw turbine has an output of about 46 watts at 3 m/sec. At 1.5m/sec that would be about 5 watts, though with friction, I imagine it will be a tad less than that.

If you allow that a turbine on a poor site might be asleep for 33% of the time, and instead we could harvest somewhere between the 5 watts and the 46 watts - say 25 watts, that would be 73 KwHrs per year, worth about €12.

MayoForSam · 19-05-2009 08:09AM

I would be very sceptical too as regards some of the C+F claims, it seems too good to be true that an Irish company with no track record in wind power suddenly comes up with a technology that offers significant advantages over everyone else. The Germans or the Danes are way ahead of the curve on this one. €20K is a lot of money to spend on a turbine that may not be turning all of the time. Axial flux is not exactly new technology.

Some good PR going on of course, I am sure EI and the government are milking this for all that it's worth in these difficult times.

bladespin · 19-05-2009 09:37AM

Pembily wrote: »

They are being manufactured to give a greater efficiency. They are working on new technology that hasn’t been put in that makes is much quieter!! What they are doing has not fully been released but it is going to make a big impact on the wind turbine industry...

There are inherent limits on how efficient a turbine can be, we are already approaching these, there aren't really any huge gains to be made anymore.
Most turbines are quieter than the wind that moves them in the first place so quietness isn't a big issue unless you're speaking of poorly built chinese turbines.

Cheeble · 19-05-2009 12:02PM

Pembily wrote: »

What they are doing has not fully been released but it is going to make a big impact on the wind turbine industry...

Well, good luck to them, but this is exactly the sort of hype, smoke and mirrors that is giving this industry a bad name. What the industry needs is real products, with performance which is supported by rigorously measured data and real-life installations. This, on the other hand, is just yet another promise of jam tomorrow.

Cheeble-eers

30-09-2009 08:36PM

yep - smoke and mirrors scam unfortunately

Shiny · 30-09-2009 09:56PM

glasso wrote: »

yep - smoke and mirrors scam unfortunately

based on ?

365v · 22-04-2012 09:14AM

glasso wrote: »

yep - smoke and mirrors scam unfortunately

Hi all
There seems to be a lot of wondering and guess work about the c&f wind turbines
Well wonder no more, because guess what,what you ask? well I have one..
It is a 6e, 6KW. It starts producing power at around 1.2 m/s with 50 watt
when the wind rises to 3.5 m/s when other turbines are only starting up my turbine
is putting out 480 watt, and at 8m/s it puts out the full 6kw.
My ESB bill was average 300 euro per two month, now the turbine produces three times
the amount of electricity I use.
All welcome to come see for yourselves.
Now hope that clears up a lot of guessing and wondering for you skeptics

Keedowah · 22-04-2012 09:35AM

If you dont mind me asking - can you give me a rough estimate of how much your system cost to put in?

mchammer · 23-04-2012 09:42AM

365v wrote: »

My ESB bill was average 300 euro per two month, now the turbine produces three times the amount of electricity I use.

That is very impressive indeed - the turbine is producing equivalent to 3600 euro worth of electricity per annum? where are you based? your payback period must be about 5 years with those figures...

365v · 23-04-2012 08:05PM

mchammer wrote: »

That is very impressive indeed - the turbine is producing equivalent to 3600 euro worth of electricity per annum? where are you based? your payback period must be about 5 years with those figures...

True, if the turbine was that price that you calculate.

bladespin · 23-04-2012 09:21PM

365v wrote: »

True, if the turbine was that price that you calculate.

How much was it? Sorry but there's no point beating about the bush.

I'd be pretty chuffed with a return like that, your site must be very well suited to a turbine.

pljudge321 · 23-04-2012 09:56PM

365v wrote: »

Hi all
There seems to be a lot of wondering and guess work about the c&f wind turbines
Well wonder no more, because guess what,what you ask? well I have one..
It is a 6e, 6KW. It starts producing power at around 1.2 m/s with 50 watt
when the wind rises to 3.5 m/s when other turbines are only starting up my turbine
is putting out 480 watt, and at 8m/s it puts out the full 6kw.
My ESB bill was average 300 euro per two month, now the turbine produces three times
the amount of electricity I use.
All welcome to come see for yourselves.
Now hope that clears up a lot of guessing and wondering for you skeptics

A €300 bill per two month at €0.16 per kWh equates to 1875 kWh bi-monthly electricity usage. You claim to be generating three times this so 5625 kWh bi-monthly. Taking two months as 61 days or 1464 hours this means you are generating on average 3.84 kW. Under ideal conditions this would require perfectly regular, turbulence free wind conditions of around 7m/s, all the time, around the clock.

You'll excuse me if I'm somewhat skeptical.

365v · 24-04-2012 02:09PM

Keedowah wrote: »

If you dont mind me asking - can you give me a rough estimate of how much your system cost to put in?

The general confusion seems to be about the turbine output, not the price.
The price can be found out by phoning C&F for a quote if you are interested in a turbine.
The price I paid is personal info.

365v · 24-04-2012 02:28PM

pljudge321 wrote: »

A €300 bill per two month at €0.16 per kWh equates to 1875 kWh bi-monthly electricity usage. You claim to be generating three times this so 5625 kWh bi-monthly. Taking two months as 61 days or 1464 hours this means you are generating on average 3.84 kW. Under ideal conditions this would require perfectly regular, turbulence free wind conditions of around 7m/s, all the time, around the clock.
You'll excuse me if I'm somewhat skeptical.

I did say my ESB bill not my electricity usage, work it out again and you have it.
It is there in black and white on the inverter and the import export meter that my export is three times bigger than my import
My site is only average not a costal one.

pljudge321 · 24-04-2012 02:54PM

365v wrote: »

I did say my ESB bill not my electricity usage, work it out again and you have it.
It is there in black and white on the inverter and the import export meter that my export is three times bigger than my import
My site is only average not a costal one.

You can infer electricity usage from the bill because you are charged in units of kWh. You are claiming energy generation that is more than twice what C&F quote as the expected yield for this turbine, a figure which is already wildly optimistic.

If I'm making any stupid mistakes in my calculation then point them out.

365v · 24-04-2012 08:02PM

pljudge321 wrote: »

You can infer electricity usage from the bill because you are charged in units of kWh. You are claiming energy generation that is more than twice what C&F quote as the expected yield for this turbine, a figure which is already wildly optimistic.

If I'm making any stupid mistakes in my calculation then point them out.

The 300 was my bill you converted standing charge vat ect into KWh's.
My total bill was average 300 every two months before I got the turbine.
Now that I have turbine it produces three times the amount of electricity more than what I import.
You have got to understand the electricity that I have to import is not as much now that I have the turbine.
So you cant calculate it on the amount of electricity I imported before I got the turbine.

pljudge321 · 24-04-2012 08:39PM

365v wrote: »

Now that I have turbine it produces three times the amount of electricity more than what I import.

That's not what you said.

365v wrote: »

My ESB bill was average 300 euro per two month, now the turbine produces three times the amount of electricity I use.

Does the inverter you use log any time series data, that's the only real way to look at the turbines performance. Failing that how many units does the export meter read and over what time frame.

365v · 24-04-2012 08:51PM

pljudge321 wrote: »

That's not what you said.

Does the inverter you use log any time series data, that's the only real way to look at the turbines performance. Failing that how many units does the export meter read and over what time frame.

If the ratio is 3 to 1 it doesn't matter the time frame.

pljudge321 · 24-04-2012 08:54PM

365v wrote: »

If the ratio is 3 to 1 it doesn't matter the time frame.

Yes it does.

365v · 24-04-2012 09:01PM

pljudge321 wrote: »

Yes it does.

you can have a ratio of 3 to 1 in one month
it will still be a ratio of 3 to 1 in one year
Pick which ever you want.

pljudge321 · 24-04-2012 09:03PM

365v wrote: »

you can have a ratio of 3 to 1 in one month
it will still be a ratio of 3 to 1 in one year
Pick which ever you want.

Highly unlikely actually.

ted1 · 25-04-2012 04:58PM

Lots of ducking and diving going on here. 385v responded to a 3 year old post with great claims yet is not backing anything up.
Have you got quartely hour data available? Are you connected in anyway to the suppliers.

ted1 · 25-04-2012 04:58PM

Let's deal in kwh instead of euros.

365v · 26-04-2012 05:05PM

ted1 wrote: »

Lots of ducking and diving going on here. 385v responded to a 3 year old post with great claims yet is not backing anything up.
Have you got quartely hour data available? Are you connected in anyway to the suppliers.

"great claims" so if they are true would you be impressed? yes or no?

pljudge321 · 26-04-2012 06:58PM

365v wrote: »

"great claims" so if they are true would you be impressed? yes or no?

Well you haven't quantified the claims yet which makes this point moot.

ted1 · 26-04-2012 09:56PM

365v wrote: »

ted1 wrote: »

Lots of ducking and diving going on here. 385v responded to a 3 year old post with great claims yet is not backing anything up.
Have you got quartely hour data available? Are you connected in anyway to the suppliers.

"great claims" so if they are true would you be impressed? yes or no?

Once again with the ducking and diving, sign of a true salesman.

bladespin · 26-04-2012 10:26PM

365v wrote: »

The general confusion seems to be about the turbine output, not the price.
The price can be found out by phoning C&F for a quote if you are interested in a turbine.
The price I paid is personal info.

There's nothing personal about the price of a turbine, post it up, some of us would rather be prepared for the usual sales speil than run headlong into it.

djpbarry · 27-04-2012 07:59AM

ted1 wrote: »

Lots of ducking and diving going on here. 385v responded to a 3 year old post with great claims yet is not backing anything up.

Indeed. Thread closed.

Wind Turbines Manufactured in Galway

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