Solar or Wind?. Dilemma is finally over. It is wind that takes precedence over Solar at this time. Depending on vagaries of wind is risky, but I must take this.
Solar Solution still remains elusive. The most colorfully advertised, Happy farmers with perpetual smile, intellectually pleasing solution, scientific approach to green energy, yet it remains a mystery why on ground retailers are unable to close any deal. Most of the claims are turning out to be false.
I remember as a child, i have played with solar powered wrist watches, toys, calculators, PDAs and even ball point pen with digital watches. They used to work efficiently in doors under tube-light settings. Now everything is gone. 40 years hence, even toys are hardly solar. Instead of buying bundles of batteries in malls, we could have gone solar at-least for kinder-garden pendulum toys which consume less power. Rechargeable AA batteries using chemicals are still around with photographers frantically buying "power packs" instead of solar panels. Cellphones should have gone solar way. Still we search for power points in hotels, trains and airports. (Solar) Panels could have been sold in mom and pop stores for everyday use. Huge solar thermal water heaters which are found on roof tops of every apartment could have actually become and replaced with sleek solar power generators. Yet nothing has happened in 40 years!. Mystery ? yeh ! Presently let me keep that research aside.
One of the reasons not going for solar in first iteration is also to escape theft and vandalism. My farm is not guarded in the night. Solar panels could attracts miscreants.
Coming to Wind energy, there are few companies who manufacture time tested wind pumps, whose proposals were duly compared. There may be other small scale companies fabricating pumps, but they were left this time for want of installation base, service and support. The list published by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources on the manufacturers of "water-pumping windmills, aerogenerators, and wind–solar hybrid" systems is laughable. Hardly anyone except Aureka has a working solution in this list. Two things I have never understood so far. a) how HR selects employees for promotion in a corporate. b) How Govt selects eligible applicants for their schemes.
My farm happens to be on high density wind area. Thanks to CWET (Centre for wind energy technology), this map is available for re-affirmation. The violet colour indicates high density and thankfully my farm is there.
Tinytech offered me Wind Pump, but Mehta said he has no time to support. If any repair comes you take care yourself. If I were at the farm, i could do that. From remote location it is better to go safe way. So I left it this time. Aureka pump from Pondicherry was costing more for my budget. ABS was right in all respects including their good response. Both are UK design and time tested. ABS windmills use Poldaw reciprocating wind pumps as against gear box driven pumps. They also use SKF ball bearnings which are available commonly. These attracted me besides other things. It would have been good if good old American pumps as captured by Dorothy Ainsworth namely Sears & Roebuck, Aermotor, Dempster, and Baker Monitor were available. But unfortunately they are not available in India. I doubt even if it is available over there.
On the specification, the wind pump would have a 3.5 meter diameter rotor atop a 12 meter tower. There was an option to go for larger diameter, but to keep costs low.... Water to be drawn from 150 feet depth through a 6 cm dia pipe. I hope we should be able to build a 10,000+ liter water tank (to be designed yet) and pump the water at 5 meter above the ground level. From this, gravity should pull the water down to pipes for irrigation. Excess water from this tank should fall in another ground level large pool tank. This is the grand plan. Presently planning to install the wind pump alone and allow it to stabilize. The output will be taken to existing small tank and with rubber hose, irrigation to continue for some time before investing in piping network.
I am trying to contain the cost within Rs. 2.5 lacs to 3 lacs for total cost of ownership including everything. THERE IS NO SUBSIDY for WIND PUMPs as I know, yet general opinion and intellectuals thinks that the Government and the World at large are favoring and incentivising renewable energy. Perhaps policies are made for large Megawatt projects in both solar and wind sectors. No one seems to care for marginal and poor farmers. Or they come with Gang Bang Plan of subsidy which will benefit God knows who. I would invite anyone who can give sensible consultancy on availing subsidy for small wind pump on the invoice that I would have already paid.
Presently ground preparation for installation to start any time this week. This marks an important milestone.
************
Solar Solution still remains elusive. The most colorfully advertised, Happy farmers with perpetual smile, intellectually pleasing solution, scientific approach to green energy, yet it remains a mystery why on ground retailers are unable to close any deal. Most of the claims are turning out to be false.
I remember as a child, i have played with solar powered wrist watches, toys, calculators, PDAs and even ball point pen with digital watches. They used to work efficiently in doors under tube-light settings. Now everything is gone. 40 years hence, even toys are hardly solar. Instead of buying bundles of batteries in malls, we could have gone solar at-least for kinder-garden pendulum toys which consume less power. Rechargeable AA batteries using chemicals are still around with photographers frantically buying "power packs" instead of solar panels. Cellphones should have gone solar way. Still we search for power points in hotels, trains and airports. (Solar) Panels could have been sold in mom and pop stores for everyday use. Huge solar thermal water heaters which are found on roof tops of every apartment could have actually become and replaced with sleek solar power generators. Yet nothing has happened in 40 years!. Mystery ? yeh ! Presently let me keep that research aside.
One of the reasons not going for solar in first iteration is also to escape theft and vandalism. My farm is not guarded in the night. Solar panels could attracts miscreants.
Coming to Wind energy, there are few companies who manufacture time tested wind pumps, whose proposals were duly compared. There may be other small scale companies fabricating pumps, but they were left this time for want of installation base, service and support. The list published by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources on the manufacturers of "water-pumping windmills, aerogenerators, and wind–solar hybrid" systems is laughable. Hardly anyone except Aureka has a working solution in this list. Two things I have never understood so far. a) how HR selects employees for promotion in a corporate. b) How Govt selects eligible applicants for their schemes.
My farm happens to be on high density wind area. Thanks to CWET (Centre for wind energy technology), this map is available for re-affirmation. The violet colour indicates high density and thankfully my farm is there.
Tinytech offered me Wind Pump, but Mehta said he has no time to support. If any repair comes you take care yourself. If I were at the farm, i could do that. From remote location it is better to go safe way. So I left it this time. Aureka pump from Pondicherry was costing more for my budget. ABS was right in all respects including their good response. Both are UK design and time tested. ABS windmills use Poldaw reciprocating wind pumps as against gear box driven pumps. They also use SKF ball bearnings which are available commonly. These attracted me besides other things. It would have been good if good old American pumps as captured by Dorothy Ainsworth namely Sears & Roebuck, Aermotor, Dempster, and Baker Monitor were available. But unfortunately they are not available in India. I doubt even if it is available over there.
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| Courtesy : ABS |
On the specification, the wind pump would have a 3.5 meter diameter rotor atop a 12 meter tower. There was an option to go for larger diameter, but to keep costs low.... Water to be drawn from 150 feet depth through a 6 cm dia pipe. I hope we should be able to build a 10,000+ liter water tank (to be designed yet) and pump the water at 5 meter above the ground level. From this, gravity should pull the water down to pipes for irrigation. Excess water from this tank should fall in another ground level large pool tank. This is the grand plan. Presently planning to install the wind pump alone and allow it to stabilize. The output will be taken to existing small tank and with rubber hose, irrigation to continue for some time before investing in piping network.
I am trying to contain the cost within Rs. 2.5 lacs to 3 lacs for total cost of ownership including everything. THERE IS NO SUBSIDY for WIND PUMPs as I know, yet general opinion and intellectuals thinks that the Government and the World at large are favoring and incentivising renewable energy. Perhaps policies are made for large Megawatt projects in both solar and wind sectors. No one seems to care for marginal and poor farmers. Or they come with Gang Bang Plan of subsidy which will benefit God knows who. I would invite anyone who can give sensible consultancy on availing subsidy for small wind pump on the invoice that I would have already paid.
Presently ground preparation for installation to start any time this week. This marks an important milestone.
************
I invented two new types of wind pumps. I've built models but can't test full scale because I have no test site. They are potentially much cheaper than existing multi-blade farm windmills. For information about them, please contact me at sharpencil@sbcglobal.net. Peter Allen Sharp
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