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Most of the team has packed up and headed Wes..., er EAST to sunny (and I do
mean sunny!) New Mexico for the startup of Abundant Energy's new
prototype vertical axis wind turbine in Clovis. The test machine
will start with two of a potential five carousels. To begin with, the
generator and gearbox will need to be joined together inside of a
cradle located in a building at the base of the turbine. Also
inside the building is our grid-tie inverter and active front end.
After doing a few tests without and then with a load, everything
will get hooked (and, hopefully, talking) together before a full test
of the turbine's generating power will be attempted. If all goes
well, additional carousels will be added followed by more towers.
A complete farm of these turbines at their full height will be
quite a sight to see!
This time I don't feel bad about being the
only one left in the office since it's 72-76 degrees here and well over
100 where Ian, Frank, Semion and Roman are having to work outside.
I even heard that today they had to dodge storm driven wind gusts
and lightning. They're only about 70 miles as a saucer flies away
from Roswell as well, so they might need to worry about being abducted
too! I guess I won't complain... Extraterrestrial food is ok, but I hate the prodding.
I'm going to add pictures below as they come in from the team so be sure to check back often over the next weeks!
    
  
   
    
   
   
Remember to click on each image to see a much higher resolution version!
Click to view ==> Turbine Test Video <== Click to view
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On
a trip to visit both current and potential customers, Frank and Ian
stop by the Altamount Pass Windfarm - the largest concentration of wind
turbines anywhere in the world. As someone who's definitely NOT
in the industry once said "Boy, those 'fans' sure produce a lot of
wind!"
Hopefully soon some of these very turbines will be upgraded to include one of our Energetic Drives solutions.
Here's a few images of the boys enjoying the breeze (looks like fun as I sit here stuck in the office - again...).
Clicking on each of the smaller pictures below brings up a much larger image as usual!
  
 
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Our
second year of participation and this time we sent Ian and Frank to
represent! Loads of exhibits to see, but plenty of people
stopping by the booth kept the team too busy to explore much.
Once again, Energetic Drives teamed up with the Portland
Development Commision along with a few other Oregon businesses. A
few dignitaries took some time to talk and watch our presentations
including Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon).
Here's a few
pictures from the show. Please excuse any bluriness, I believe
our photographer was a bit over-caffeinated... Click on each
thumbnail to see the (very large)
full size image.
   
  
  
 
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Energetic Drives is teaming up with Abundant Energy, LLC to create the first of a new
generation of vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT'S). Designed for
high torque and power extraction without the need for tall towers (like
the normal horizontal wind turbines), we're hoping to help fill a farm
of up to 40 turbines in Clovis once the concept has been proven. Roswell's only a few
miles away so maybe we'll see a spaceship or two as well!
More details to follow soon! Click on Abundant Energy's logo below to visit their website.
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The
new year has started out promising with a few projects expected to fill
the hopper soon. One company in the largest U.S. state has
retained us for a very exciting hydrokinetic endeavour. There's
tremendous potential that this product will be able to help hundreds of
Alaskan villagers obtain clean energy for a fraction of what they pay
now (mostly for diesel). As they say, this first unit should
only be the tip of a power-revolution iceberg. We're very excited
at the prospect of raising the standard of living for many Alaskans!
(However, we're kind of hoping we don't need to visit in January
- we become wimps in 60 degree below zero weather! Brrr!)
Check back for more updates on this project!
Here's
a picture of one test site. Rugged, yet beautiful! Click on
the picture to see a much larger version then click on the beautiful
sun picture to visit Hasz Consulting Company's website.
 
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As
the six-month, stay with WPI or opt-out date approached, a lot of
nervous energy and stressful contemplation went into the decision.
Finally, the team decided to take the first steps down the more
challenging path and return to our original business model. While
we still consider ourselves affiliated with WindPower Innovations and
wish them all the best, we are no longer a wholly owned subsidiary.
We don't take this decision lightly and our
growth may be a bit slower, but we are now fully responsible for all
progress and success, as well as any trips and stubbed toes that we may
encounter going forward - and we're OK with that.
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September
has really been a media frenzy for Energetic Drives - and we're only
just past the first week! First, Ian "survives" an interview with
Terri at WPNV, then an article about us gets published in Windpower
Engineering!
Look for a follow-up interview and more articles to
come in the near future as well. Click on the picture of Ian
answering questions to hear the WPNV interview or click on the
Windpower Engineering logo to read the article about us there.
 
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Sadly
we must say Good Bye to XH Industries as they part ways with Wind Power
Innovations. We wish Jerry well in his future endeavours!
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Our
parent company, WindPower Innovations, Inc. has put together a new
website! We think it has a very nice, professional, modern look.
Click on the logo below to visit the website and check it out for
yourself!
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Energetic
Drives has the experienced personnel and business connections to create
custom solutions that others simply can't compete with but, in order to
grow, operating capital is essential. Needless to say, this was
the impetus behind our acquisition by WindPower Innovations, Inc.
The
next step in our effort to raise venture funding was a meeting between
our investor liasons and WindPower Innovations with all subsidiarys (XH
and ED) present. The liasons needed to understand what each
entity brought to the table so they could represent us accurately to
the investors themselves. I think they left the conference
realizing that there was a LOT more to us than they originally
speculated (and, although their engineer was getting very interested by
the end, I think the pure "money" guys left with their eyes a bit
glossy after our PhD was finished talking - heh!).
We're optimistic that good things will come out of this meeting.
 
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The
"Big Kahuna" of wind tradeshows took place in Dallas Texas put on by
the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Windpower 2010 was
attended by some 20,000 people with almost 1,400 companies showing off
their wares from nearly a dozen countries. At $30,000 a booth,
Energetic Drives thought it was best to team up with a group of
like-minded organizations (see the Pacific Northwest Wind Team Member
Profiles and tri-fold brochure below). Thanks to Wind Industry
Liason, Pam Neal, ED joined the Portland Development Commission at
the Business Oregon booth. We sent Alan to represent us along
with a nice batch of data sheets. I was hoping Alan could get us
a bunch of nice shots of the show, but all I get is one of him by the
booth! (The next round at Starbucks is on YOU Alan!)
All
in all it was quite an overwhelming show that could have run twice as
long and STILL there would have been exhibits to see and people to
meet! Next year we hope to have more of a presence and to send
additional people.
   
  
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Although
we chose not to field a booth despite the fact that this show was
happening right in our backyard, Ian and Craig did check the exhibits
out for possible networking relationships. As we have discovered
with the smaller wind workshops, most of the displays were targeted at
smaller or home installations, but we did interact with a few of the
"larger" players and learned a few important points about how to
integrate solar farms into our full system solutions.
  
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Another
great day for a workshop! Energetic Drives heads back out to
the
Dalles for another Wind Power Workshop put on by the Northest Seed
Organization. This time we sent Ian and Frank to represent
and
represent they did! Unfortunately, the size of our offerings
may have
intimidated some of those only familiar with small, home turbines.
Hehe...
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Not one to sit around hoping to grow, Energetic Drives has made some
big decisions!
WindPower Innovations, Inc. (PINK SHEETS: WPNV) has announced it has
signed an agreement to acquire Energetic Drives, LLC and XH Industries,
Inc. as wholly owned subsidiaries of WindPower Innovations, Inc.
While
we will still continue to be Energetic Drives, we simply will be under
the WindPower Innovations umbrella and receive the much-needed support
we were looking for to expand and grow. Watch for new
developments soon!
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A
little Pacific Northwest rain wasn't about to stop us from making a
trip across the beautiful bridge near Astoria into Washington.
We
met Chris Eros at XH Industries' "other" facility and were given a nice
tour that included admiring glances at the 700 HP dynamometer as well
as optimistic thoughts about the herd of turbines being worked on.
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On
a sunny thursday we headed out to the beautiful area called The Dalles
(about 70 miles away) for a Wind Power Workshop put on by the Northwest
Seed Organization. We joined several other exhibitors set up
in the long hall. The workshop
presentations are now available on Northwest Seed's website. In the
pictures below are Alex of NW Seed (with a view of the exhibition hall
behind her) and Craig being a nerd at our
booth. Yes, it's true that we were the only
exhibiters with
music! Click on the NW Seed logo to checkout
their
website.
  
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Just
because the incorporation papers have been recorded, doesn't mean
everything is in perfect working shape! Check out Ian's
temporary
office created by converting a portion of Craig's garage! Of
course the "conference rooms" all have a nice view and it's also a good
place to show off the banner and demo unit we're putting together for a
Wind Power Workshop coming up in September.
  
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