The Rural Voice, 1980-11, Page 9McQuail: Its maximum rated out -put is
3,300 watts. The maximum we've seen on
our meters is 15 Amp. at 150 volts which
equals 2,250 watts. Output will vary from
nothing to the maximum of 3,300 watts
depending on the wind speed. Because of
the belt problems I do not Nave long term
output averages. During a 12 day period
in September when everything was
working I averaged about 4 KW hr. per
day.
R.V.: I understand that you have an
arrangement with Hydro to sell back
surplus power? Can you describe how
this works?
McQuall: Unfortunately it is not vet an
arrangement to "sell" power back to
Hydro. In the U.S. they have good
legislation requiring the utility to pay the
small producer replacement costs for the
power they seed back to the lines. Ontario
Hydro is currently "permitting" me to
feed power into their lines. They will be
metering my input and after a year's
operation we will "negotiate" a rate.
In the meantime I pay full price for any
power 1 receive from Hydro, the full
capital and operating costs of the
generator system and Ontario Hydro uses
my system as their showpiece at a wind
energy symposium in Vancouver. At this
point I am not terribly impressed with
Ontario Hydro's commitment to
developing or encouraging small scale,
alternative sources of electricity.
R.V.: O.K. has this been a great saving
for you?
McQuall: The pumping windmill has
been a great saving. Low capital cost,
minimal maintenance and no energy
The wind generator is very noticeable as it sits high on the hill at Tony and Fran
McQuail's farm. Tony said he would be glad to share the knowledge he has gained
from working on wind power projects.
costs forever. We didn't buy the wind
generator to save money. My wife and I
felt we should be developing alternate
energy systems NOW. We didn't see
Ontario Hydro, government or research
institutions doing this type of applied
research and we decided to do it
ourselves. Whether it will save us money
will depend on how quickly Hydro rates
rise and how much they will pay us for
surplus power. In the mean time it is
starting to provide us with real data on
what kind of output and performance can
be expected in our area.
R.V.: Any advice to a farmer attempting
to build or put together his own windmill?
McQua is It can be interesting and
educational. It may be more difficult, take
more time and be more expensive than
you expect. It's a good idea to get as
much information as you can before you
start. Compare designs and pick the one
you feel would suit you best. If you are
seriously interested in building or buying
a wind generator you would be welcome
to visit our installation and we could
share with you what we've learned from
it.
THE RURAL VOICE/NOVEMBER 1980 PG 7