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The Bergey Windpower Corp. is housed in a former WWII
barracks, next to an airfield. It has a certain rustic
charm..... It's basically a machine shop; Bergey has only a few
parts manufactured off site. |
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Outside the shop, they have their 1KW, 10KW and 50KW units
cranking. You can see the XL.1 (far left, close to the building),
the Excel 10 (center) and the 100 ft. tower for the 50 KW unit at the
far right. |
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Here you can see the 50 KW unit (back) and tower parts in
the foreground. "When the 50KW genny is cranking, it powers
the entire shop." Let me tell you, folks, it was QUITE windy
the entire time we were at Bergey! Brrrrr.... |
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XL.1's ready to go! Lead time is down to 7 - 10
weeks on these; by early summer, Bergey hopes to have these on the shelf
with NO appreciable lead time. Wouldn't hurt to get in line now,
though. |
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Here's the assembly area for the "guts" of the
Excel 10 unit. These babies weigh about 1100 lbs,
assembled.
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The XL.1, left, and Excel 50, rear. The view is so
deceptive; the XL.1 is on a 40 ft. tower--and each blade of the Excel 50
is 21 ft. long! The tower and wind generator of their one kilowatt
unit will fit in the blade span of their 50 KW unit. |
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Here's the class, getting ready to put up an Excel 10
(with the judicious help of an experienced crane operator). |
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The components to the Excel 10, laid out and ready to
assemble. |
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The crane has raised the 100 ft. tubular tower a bit, and
set it on some rather heavy-duty sawhorses; then, the crane was used
(with a special "harness") to put the body of the wind
genny on it. The body of the wind generator is bolted into place. |
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Ken of Bergey Windpower diligently instructs the class on
safety and tower raising specifics. |
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Now the turbine blades are attached (with a torque
wrench), and the wiring connections are firmed. The tail of the
unit is "furled" to prevent its spinning until it's finally
put into place. |
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You definitely need a crane operator who knows his/her
stuff! The wind turbine weighs about 1100 lbs., and the tower,
about 2600 lbs. It was a pretty windy (and COLD) day for this
class, but the furled wind generator didn't flop around. Good
thing too..... |
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Karl Bergey (center), founder of Bergey Windpower, with a
couple of fellows from the class. |
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Left to right: Mike Bergey, head of Bergey Windpower,
Steve Wilke, head of sales and customer service, and Chris Daum, very
happy participant. |
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