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Mini-turbines from Michigan hitting home stores in 2009

By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent

MUSKEGON, Mich. — Could it be that soon, people will be able to get much of their electricity from an inexpensive miniature wind turbine – or is that just tilting at windmills?

Not according to Reggie Adams, president of Earthtronics, a small startup “green” technology company based in Muskegon, Mich. Earthtronics has teamed up with Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC) to market a miniature wind turbine that will be sold at home improvement stores. It promises to generate up to 20 percent of the average home’s electricity.

But Adams said the wind turbines will be able to do even more.

“At 15 miles per hour, it will exceed what an average home can use,” he said. “We want to meter it back to the utilities.”
Only nine states allow this right now, he said, but other things can be done with the excess electricity the wind turbines will generate – namely, charge batteries that can be used later when more electricity is needed.

“The prototype is already producing the power,” Adams said. “The key to it is it’s a gearless windmill. There’s no drag, no inertia to overcome.”

Because of this, the turbines could be useful in locales where there isn’t a lot of wind, which means the product could be sold on a larger scale.

There are two prototypes of the Windtronics line of miniature wind turbines, with different size blades. The technology was invented by Imad Mahawili, MAREC’s executive director. Measuring 36 inches in diameter and with a retail cost of approximately $2,000, the turbine will be sold at home improvement stores starting in 2009.

“This is a breakthrough wind turbine technology that was developed with specific focus on low cost of manufacture and high efficiency,” Mahawili said in a news release. “These are critical innovation objectives much sought after in wind technology to reduce both the installed cost per kilowatt of power and the operating cost per kilowatt hour.”

Mahawili’s company, E-net LLC, has licensed the technology to Earthtronics, which is also a manufacturer of energy efficient lighting products.

“Earthtronics was carefully selected to take this product to market due to their focus on green technology and high volume manufacturing,” Mahawili said. “Their local presence and marketing expertise, including international connections, are key advantages to the successful launch of this innovative wind technology.”

According to Adams, several patents are pending on the new wind turbine, but right now he’s being coy about giving out too much information.

“We’re not putting anything out on data yet,” he said. “We don’t want to give our competitors an upper hand on this.”
More testing is being done on the product, and he expects to have more detailed information in September.

So, why hasn’t anyone thought of this before? “It’s just innovation,” Adams said. “Why didn’t anyone think of Velcro before it was
invented?”

7/3/2008