During AgQuip 2009 some new technology emerged in a small, yet powerful package. Domestic Wind Turbines.
Not small, the unit installed at Agvac property on March 9th measures 8 meters tall and has a 4.9kw turbine pearched on top.
The turbine was supplied by Rewind Energy, www.rewindenergy.com.au, and is not as expensive,
compared to a similar solar output system.

The tower is made of galvanised steel, and is hindged, for easy access when it comes time for maintenance. The turbine head
is made in Germany, and shipped with a specific set of blades and tail fin.
The tail logo was added by Vicki and Andrew upon arrival of the unit before being erected.

Fully installed the unit comes with a 600V Protection box to cover excessive enegery, an automated switch to cut and burn excessive power during mains systems blackouts, and a 6kw Grid Connected Inverter to put the power in to the grid. With the power companies paying 60 cents per kw the unit is capable of paying for itself in 5 to 6 years.

The blades are specially designed to adapt to high winds via a pitch control, twisting the blades to least resistance, instead of flat to the wind.

To get the turbine spinning requires a breeze of just 2.5 m/s (or 8km/h). Once it is spinning, it can continue to generate electricity after the breeze stops, that is until it runs out of momentum.

A unit such as this requires a good footing. The solid concrete footing for this tower measures 2m x 1.6m x 1.6m, plus the above gound section adding another 400mm to the tower base. In this case it is just to add extra height for potential flood levels, given that during the last major flood, (in 2000), the tower would be standning in 6 inches of water.

Mounted in the concrete slab are 12, 4 foot threaded hooks to anchor it to the ground, helping the unit with stand winds of over 126km/h, before needing to apply the breaks on the turbine, to reduce the chance of damage.