V3 Power - Hand Builders of Wind Turbines
Who we are
Conceived/Formed/Established in the summer of 2006 we are a group of self-employed wind turbine builders/teachers/engineers working together as a cooperative.
We have all met each other in Nottingham through its various communities and Nottingham University where a number of us studied.
The Turbine
So far we have been working exclusively with the a design developed by Hugh Piggott of Scoraig Wind. We build his 'axial flux' turbines with a 2.4 metre blade diametre.
The rotor consists of 3 aerofoiled blades. The blades are hand-carved from wood, so far we have used mainly Ash.
The alternator is hand-built (as opposed to using a reclaimed alternator) using permanent magnets and hand wound copper coils. 10 coils are cast in glass reinforced epoxy resin to form a 'stator'. The permanent magnets, 24 in total, are set on two discs either side, infront and behind the stator.
The rotor and alternator are attached to a welded steel mounting which sits on top of the tower.
The complete plans for the design are available from Hugh's website - http://www.scoraigwind.co.uk/
What we do
By running courses where people can learn how to build, install and maintain their own turbine we offer people and communities the chance to release themselves from reliance on the national grid while making a real difference to the climate change problem.
By using the courses to build something useful (a working wind turbine) we use our time efficiently which allows us to offer discounts to anyone who needs them. Whilst we rely on those who can afford it paying full price (courses £200, wind turbines approx. £2000), anyone who has a genuine interest but lacks these means we can offer our services for a discount or free.
Our main work involves running residential courses, providing wind turbines to power events, running educational workshops either for schools or otherwise and finally building and installing wind turbines.
We are also available to give advice or at the very least point you in the right direction if you have any questions.