"The Government have clearly sent the message to Shell, ‘you can do whatever you want’. Fortunately due to protest, the refinery remains unconnected to the gas field. If, as Shell planned, gas had been flowing by now, we would potentially all be dealing with a gas leak and explosion.”
Objective
To build a wind turbine and through this, teach participants the theory and practice of turbine building and installation.
Course Structure
Days will start with theory session relating to the days practical work. Details of subjects covered in these sessions are listed below. The group will then be split into 3 teams, each rotating around different workshops. This way everybody gets a full experience of each part of the build. The workshops are listed below.
Blades Workshop
Participants will be carving the blades using hand-tools such as drawknives, spokeshaves, planes and files. The blades start as blocks of straight grained wood and are carved into the 3D shape consisting of a twisted front face and aerofoil back face.
Alternator Workshop
To make the alternator this base will cover tasks that include: Winding copper coils and soldering them together to make the stator, mounting magnets on steel disks preparing moulds for casting with resin, working on the electrical system – connecting batteries, brake switch and charge control system
Mounting and Tower Workshop
This is a metal working base, where attendees will be taught welding, and manufacture the mounting that holds everything together and the tower which holds the turbine in the air. Course participants will get experience in a wide range of metal working skills, such as welding, grinding, drilling filing.
Electrical System Workshop
We will prepare as much as possible for the installation of the turbine. Although the turbine will not be grid-connected by the end of the course as further preparation will be needed. We will also discuss and illustrate the off-grid system and using the batteries which is currently being used on the camp. We will cover 12V systems as well as connecting and using an inverter, and discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each.
In the evening there will be time for activities depending on demand: more theory if requested, more work on the turbine, discussions about renewable energy or a walk in the beautiful surrounding scenery.
The course will culminate at the end of the week with the turbine being assembled, erected and the electrical system being intergrated into the house's existing 12V batteries.
Teaching Sessions The following subjects will be covered in morning sessions. If you have anything specific you'd like us to cover, please get in touch before the course and we'll ensure we incorporate it.
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Introduction to Wind Power
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The Hugh Piggott Turbine
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Blade Theory
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Alternator Theory
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Mounting and Tower Theory
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Installation: Siting and Tower
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Electrical Systems of Wind Turbines
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Example of past installations
What your money goes towards
The price of the course covers the materials for the wind turbine you will be building and the costs of putting the course on. The turbine will be used after construction, meaning you have invested in sustainable technology that will last for several decades. A portion of your money will go towards wages for the V3 course instructors, as we make a living from teaching people how to build wind turbines.We are a not-for-profit workers co-operative, so any surplus covers our running costs and is invested back into tools, materials, or teaching aids to better the quality and accessibility of the courses we run in the future.
| Attachment | Size |
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| WindTurbineCourse_RSC.jpg | 128.75 KB |
| finished turbine poster PDF.pdf | 384.21 KB |
Date:
4 August 2012 (All day) - 10 August 2012 (All day)