January 3, 2011
Al Hines grew up in a family of farmers. He operates a cash crop farm, while his five brothers are all involved in other farming operations under the “Hines Ranch” corporation umbrella. Aside from his farming business, Al also owns a construction company, Alan P. Hines Construction Inc., where he works as an independent contractor in Ellsworth, Wisconsin.
Al’s primary interest in procuring a wind turbine was to lower his energy costs. Despite the sizeable operation of his farm, the majority its power consumption came from the continuous running of its pond pumps. The first option Al examined in order to lower his energy costs was the use of outdoor wood burning furnaces to heat his two on-site homes. However, after his initial research, Al concluded that not only would the furnaces be too expensive, but there would be an inordinate amount of work required to keep them continuously fed.
When Al learned about the Wisconsin Focus on Energy incentive program, it made more sense to him to go with a wind turbine, since it was economically feasible to produce his own power on-site. Additionally, the state’s net metering policy would pay him for any energy he produced, but did not use. Al began to investigate the functionality of small wind turbines, quickly concluding that the smaller units were not for him. He decided that his investment should not merely meet his current energy needs, but rather, exceed them to allow for future increases. Due to the remote location of the farm and its electrical connection to the grid, Al was limited exclusively to single-phase connectible wind turbines. Al considered less expensive, re-built units, but opted to go with the Endurance E-3120 for three important reasons: its single phase grid-connection capability, its innovative design and its massive power production. Endurance also offered the largest single-phase wind turbine available in the distributed wind market.
The wind resource assessment of Al’s land reported an average wind speed of 12mph (5.5 m/s). Al decided to use the highest tower available during installation, 140ft (42.7m), in order to minimize the wind turbulence caused by neighbouring buildings and trees. The taller tower also provided the means to harness the best wind speeds, naturally found at greater heights. The project was managed by Wind Specialist, Casey Bailey, of Frontier Wind Energy, a dealer under the BTI, John Deere dealer network. Upon the completed purchase and installation of his Endurance E-3120 wind turbine, Al stated, “I’m satisfied with everything, and I’m not easy to satisfy!”
In its first few months of operation, the peak daily power output was 1305 kWh and the best annual monthly output, 9070 kWh. Al’s turbine now produces 50% more power than what is being consumed. Every extra kWh produced by the turbine translates into a credit from Al’s power company. Due to energy cost savings from the use of his wind turbine, Al is expecting a 5 -7 year pay back. “The turbine is doing everything I expected, plus a bit more. I am 100% satisfied with everything!” he commented. Rather than receiving a monthly bill for power consumed, Al now takes full enjoyment in receiving a credit from his energy company. By opting to install the Endurance E-3120, Al realized considerable energy savings, thereby significantly reducing his energy costs - clear proof that the Endurance E-3120 is “green energy that works!”
© 2012, Endurance Windpower.
www.endurancewindpowerinc.com
Posted by admin on January 3, 2011
