THE WIND IS FREE!

FREE ONLINE DIAGRAMS ETC TO BUILD A SMALL WIND GENERATOR @ windpower.org.za or google The Wind is Free!

The generator had to fulfill the following design criteria:
An effective source of alternative power, allowing the generation of a portion of the electricty required for the household
Constructed using only a drill press and bandsaw (although rotors needed industrial cutting), and avoiding high technology
Small and light enough to be picked up and mounted by hand
Made from readily available materials
Items such as bearings and the shaft should be easily available and low cost
Safe: i.e. if something failed or broke damage to property would be minimal
Cheap, but sturdy enough to withstand a Northwest gale in Cape Town!

http://windpower.org.za/

Wow!  Very cool!

Remember that google contest? Well, there's a guy here in the Seattle area that has been a contender with his rooftop wind turbine.

The gristmill called their story "Breaking Wind Barriers." I found out about it through a story of this story because they thought the title was funny.

That Google Project 10/100th got so many entries (over 100,000) that they've pushed the date from Jan. 27 to March 17th.

I guess my permie idea doesn't have much of a chance with those figures.  Still, the odds are better than winning the lottery...

Sue