Update: May 2006

blueEnergy's First 12 ft Turbine & a New 8 ft Turbine

On May 6th, blueEnergy completed and raised its first Nicaraguan-made 12 ft diameter wind turbine. The machine is similar in design to the 8 ft turbine (though not identical), with all components scaled up appropriately. Although the 12 ft machine only represents a diameter increase of 50%, it has more than double the swept area of the 8 ft machine. Swept area is the single most important factor in determining a wind turbine's power potential, and this new machine has more than double to power output potential of its predecessor. The new 12 ft machine is currently mounted on a 60 ft tilt-up tower on the hill of the Inatec campus in Bluefields.

Long-time American volunteer Amos Elias led the implementation team for this effort and we are extrememly grateful to him for his dedication.

blueEnergy also completed a new 8 ft turbine in May that incorporates many of the improvements that have been developed over the past year. This turbine replaced an older model and is operating on a 50 ft lattice tower on the Inatec campus.

[Pictures] | [Video Clip]

Maintenance Trip to Pearl Lagoon

In early May, a team of blueEnergy technicians went to the PLACE school in Pearl Lagoon to perform regular maintenance on a turbine installed there back in June 2005. You can read more about the installation here. The turbine was found to be in excellent condition, with only expected wear and tear issues observed. This is great news given that the turbine weathered Hurricane BETA back in October 2005.

In addition to performing regular maintenance, the blueEnergy team also installed a permanent inverter in the control panel; the installation had been running on an inverter on loan from blueEnergy. The new inverter is fully capable of running the auditorium's 24 lights and its 8 speakers simultaneously.

[Pictures]