Leaving Winnipeg with our Vertical Axis Wind Turbine strapped to the back of the truck, we looked at ourselves and wondered how we got on this road. Don’t get me wrong, we know how to find the trans-Canada highway east out of Winnipeg. What I mean is; we wondered how we ended up agreeing to pitch in front of five self-made millionaires and convince them to invest in Global Wind Group Inc.

So there we were leaving Winnipeg with gas prices at record levels hauling a load that is the EXACT opposite of aerodynamic. I so desperately wished we were driving an electric truck and could let the turbine free-spin. We traveled the longer route through Canada since we could only imagine the conversation with the border guard. If you’ve ever done the drive across the northern shore of Lake Superior you’ll know what I’m talking about when I describe it as beautiful desolation. We quickly learned that gas stations are an oasis in an endless desert of trees.

The response we got from people across Northern Ontario were split 50-50 between, “Oh boy, you are going to be on T.V.!”, and “Please give me your card, we are desperate to get away from diesel electricity”. Both were nice to hear, but never took the sting off the $130 fill-ups.

One of our primary target markets are customers using diesel for electricity. We felt their pump pain every time we stopped. One station we pulled skipped the pleasantries and opened with “Have you seen our price, and are you sure you want the gas?” Off-grid diesel generators produce roughly 3kWh/L of diesel, giving you a straight price of $0.40/kWh. Add in the price of delivery and generator maintenance, and diesel electricity is quickly going the way of the dinosaurs whose remains run those generators.

We spent the evening before the taping in a suburb of Toronto and drove in during rush hour. We had a laugh every time we saw a bleary eyed commuter snap out of their morning daze and realize they were driving beside a piece of cutting edge micro-wind technology. We pulled off the Gardiner Expressway onto Spadina, and drove north to Front Street to unload the turbine into CBC broadcast studio. The wide open streets of Winnipeg were replaced by the tight, congested honking streets of Toronto, and we had finally arrived. “Was the Dragon’s Den ready for Global Wind Group and the ZuS vertical-axis wind turbine?” Tune in to the next season to find out.

Distributed energy generation is touted as part of the futuristic sounding ‘smart-grid’. A future where traditional energy generation is supplemented with energy created close to the point of consumption, and individual machines and appliances communicate with each other and the grid in an effort to minimize consumer costs. It’s interesting to think that soon your dishwasher could refuse to operate because the grid has determined that it’s nearing capacity and is managing demand to avoid a disruption. Want to run that dishwasher regardless? Well then it’s time to invest in your own micro energy.

In my opinion, one of the most exciting aspects of the smart-grid is micro energy. Micro energy typically refers to user-sized renewable energy generating systems. Customers in the past would install enough energy generation for their own use, but increasingly are installing much more capacity to take advantage of feed-in-tariffs. We are starting to see the rise of companies in California, and other jurisdictions with particularly advantageous tariffs, renting space and becoming micro-utilities, generating power and selling it to the grid for a profit.

One of the biggest barriers to wide spread adoption of micro-energy is storing the energy. Micro-utilities will tell you that the grid is your storage, and any energy produced is pushed to the grid giving you a credit against future energy purchases. The drawback to this is two-fold, i) grid availability, ii) peak vs. non-peak pricing. When the grid is unavailable, think emergencies and black-outs, there is no place for that energy to go, and is lost to a dump load or into the ground. Critics will point out that the likelihood of this occurring is low, but being able to draw upon your stored energy in times of crisis has obvious benefits.

A stronger argument for storing micro energy is to maximize return on investment. Progressive feed-in-tariffs adjust the $/kWh based on time of day so that peak energy is more valuable than non-peak energy. While solar energy tends to have peak production occurring at the time of peak pricing, there are plenty of sun hours outside of peak pricing. Of course wind energy is notoriously variable making energy storage critical to maximizing R.O.I.

Being able to store your energy to sell at peak pricing is perhaps the best way to maximize the return on a micro-energy investment. It is for this reason that Global Wind Group Inc. delivers batteries as a standard part of our ZuS modular power system. Please contact us for more information.

The ZüS™ Power Challenge is an opportunity for Global Wind Group with the aid of our dealer network and their customer worldwide to demonstrate how the energy produced from a 1 kW ZüS™ Modular Power System is being utilized. In 2012 entrants from all over the world will be able to participate in the ZüS™ Power Challenge for a chance at winning a cash prize.

Current Entrants

Red River Exhibition Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

This project is demonstrating if there is sufficient power to power life in an 8’x16’ cabin in the middle of an extreme Winnipeg winter. The challenge will be carried out over the course of two weeks and involves a staff member to live in the cabin throughout this time.

Components in the cabin will include a computer with internet access, a television, fridge, microwave and an exercise machine. All of these devices will run off the power generated from the turbine. There will be no connection to an outside power source even for the purposes of heating. The challenge will take place during the month of March 2011 and is the first of an annual challenge that will take place between all users of the ZüS™ Modular Power System.

New Dealers

In 2010 GWG had a variety of companies join our dealer network throughout the globe. GWG would like to welcome Vanak Ltd. in Bermuda, Globe Link Telecom of Alaska, USA and Crest Service in Iowa, USA. We are excited to have these companies on board representing the 1 kW ZüS™ Modular Power System. Please take a look at our dealer page for more information on how to contact our dealers or to become a dealer yourself.

New Website

If you haven’t noticed, In early 2011, Global Wind Group redesigned their website to accomplish the following:

* Improve the Visitor Experience – We simplified and layout and navigation to provide a much easier experience for the visitor to find what they are looking for.
* Improve Visibility Online – We have made a few small additions such as the social media integration and search engine optimization, all in the hopes to make it easier to find and share the information on our website.

If you have any website suggestions or feedback please fill out a contact us form and let us know!

In July, we welcomed John Fjeldsted as our new CEO. John brings with him a wealth of experience stemming from his 30+ year career with Manitoba Hydro, and his work as Executive Director of the Manitoba Environmental Industries Association. GWG has been very pleased with the work John has done to further our company and strengthen ties with the Manitoba government over the last six months.

Following our win in the first annual Green Dragons Lair with the Manitoba Environmental Industries Association in October GWG was recognized as one of Canada’s hottest innovative companies in 2010 by The Canadian Innovation Exchange in Toronto, Ontario.

In 2010 ZüS™ Modular Power System has gone through some modifications to make it more efficient and cost effective. As our engineering team continued to work diligently on new products, the NaNo ZüS™ was born. The biggest advantage of the NaNo ZüS™ is its compact size. At 3ft (1M) high, 3ft (1M) wide, and only 60lbs (27kG), the Nano ZüS™ can be installed virtually anywhere. You will see the NaNo ZüS™ on the market in the summer of 2011.

As 2010 ended GWG had several individuals join our team including Vincent Ceccarelli as our Global Account Manager who will be responsible to generate and manage our technical sales and global dealers. Vince has been working hard to get the ZüS™ Modular Power System from the factory to wind near you! Additionally, Greg Adamiec and Mary Stuart have joined the Global Wind Group Team. Greg has quickly become an integral part of our company as the Internet Marketing Manager quickly spreading the word about GWG and our products. Finally, our newest addition Mary Stuart is the Technical Service Representative bridging the gap between the customer and engineer.

While 2010 saw many fruitful and dynamic changes transpire, we can assure you that even more good things will continue to blow through GWG in 2011. Justin, Alex and the entire GWG team are working hard to make GWG and the ZüS™ brand a household name in the international micro wind market. Stay tuned to globalwindgroup.com and the GWG newsletter for updates as they happen.

http://www.winnipeg-chamber.com/Initiatives/spiritofwinnipeg.aspx

Why is it called a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine? This is, for the simple reason that the rotator shaft of the turbine is placed vertically to the ground. This leads to a number of advantages that Vertical Axis Wind Turbines have over the Horizontal Axis Turbine.

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines are Omni directional meaning they do not have to adjust their orientation to match the direction of the wind. The benefit of this is that the energy generated from the wind is maximized regardless of the direction of the wind or the turbine. Additionally, being Omni directional means that Vertical Axis Wind Turbines use fewer parts and as a result, operating costs are substantially reduced and the durability and reliability of the product increases. These are significant advantages that Vertical Axis Wind Turbines have over their horizontal counterparts.

Another benefit of the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine is the substantial torque that they generate. This factor can be attributed to the large amount of surface area on the blades of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine. Essentially, the higher the surface area, the more force there is to push the rotator shaft that is the conduit for turning wind power into usable energy. Once captured, the torque can be applied to a practical application such as pumping water. Directly connecting to a water pump, for example, will nearly double the efficiency of converting the wind power into usable energy. Without a high level of torque, there would not be enough energy available to direct drive the application.

Finally, one of the best advantages of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines is that they are designed to spin at the same speed as the wind. In contrast, Horizontal Axis Turbines change the pitch of their blades to make them spin at a higher velocity than the wind speed. This is an important benefit for several reasons.

First, Vertical Axis Wind Turbines can operate in higher wind speeds. Since they are not spinning faster than the velocity of the wind, the centrifugal force is not so great that it will damage the structure. As a result, energy can be generated in higher wind speeds without putting the structure that supports the turbine at risk.

Second, the slower rotation speed allows Vertical Axis Wind Turbines to blend into the surrounding environment much more seamlessly. A common complaint about wind power is the amount of noise and vibration that is generated from the turbine. Again, due to the fact that Vertical Axis Wind Turbines spin at a much slower speed, noise and vibration become nearly unnoticeable.

Finally, since Vertical Axis Wind Turbines spin at a slower speed, the risk to birds is greatly reduced. Have you ever looked at a fan when it is spinning at a high speed? Sometimes, it can be hard to see it. As some Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines spin at speeds greater than 250 km/h, birds tend to fly into them more often. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines on the other hand spin slower and thus, give the appearance of a stationary object making it easier to see and giving birds the opportunity to avoid them.

The ZuS™ Modular Power System developed and manufactured by Global Wind Group Inc. amplifies all of the advantages that Vertical Axis Wind Turbines offer. This Omni directional system is reliable, easy to maintain, quiet, inconspicuous, and generates substantial torque. It will provide you with power where you need it and when you need it!

They are excited to be here and are eager to begin helping Global Wind Group Inc. grow exponentially. Check out the team page for more info and you might be able to catch them on the live chat feed.

Global Wind Group Inc. is creating energy around the world. Through our uniquely designed vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) we are providing quiet, cost efficient, energy in the world’s most remote communities. We are providing back-up power systems to businesses where being without power is not an option. We are helping you keep the lights on, power equipment, and energize your world. When there is no grid, we are the grid.

The ZüS™ Power Challenge is an opportunity for Global Wind Group to demonstrate that the energy produced from a 1 kw ZüS™ Modular Power System is sufficient to power life in a 8’x16’ cabin in the middle of an extreme Winnipeg winter.