Jan 11 2008
Distributed Energy Systems Corp., an innovative leader in wind power technology, announced today it received orders for seven Northwind 100 wind turbines for use in Alaska and the Northeast region of the United States.
Four of the advanced 100 kilowatt wind systems were sold to the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC), a utility responsible for providing power to 53 villages in Alaska. The other three wind turbines were ordered by Sustainable Energy Developments, Inc., (SED) an Ontario, NY-based company, currently developing wind projects with businesses, municipalities, residences, schools and farms in the Northeast.
Bud Cherry, chief executive officer of Distributed Energy Systems, said: “These important sales emphasize DESC’s commitment to supplying state of the art, reliable, and cost effective wind turbines in extremely diverse environments. This latest follow-on sale to AVEC – their 15th through 18th Northwind units – is gratifying to us, underscoring once again this established customer’s continuing satisfaction with the Northwind 100. We also welcome the partnership with Sustainable Energy Developments as we bring the Northwind 100 into the “lower 48” marketplace.”
AVEC’s four new Northwind 100 units are planned to be installed in its remote village diesel systems in Mekoryuk and Savoonga, which border the Bering Sea. In these wind-diesel applications, the Northwind 100 offsets the ever-increasing costs of diesel power generation. "In 2007, three Northwind 100 turbines provided over 20% of the electrical production for two interconnected villages on Nelson Island.” said Brent Petrie, special projects manager for the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative. “That installation alone displaced approximately $85,000 in diesel fuel costs in 2007.” Petrie said AVEC is evaluating the potential installation of wind turbines in up to 27 of the 53 communities it serves.
"The Northwind 100 will be a crucial part of SED's continued success in the Northeast," said Kevin Schulte, CEO and Co-Founder of SED. "The demand of projects requiring this size turbine matched with the respect we have for Distributed Energy Systems made the partnership and purchase of the three Northwind 100s a no-brainer."
With 100kW of rated power, the Northwind 100 was designed for use in wind-diesel applications, and more recently has been released as an alternative power generator for small businesses, commercial farms, small communities, schools and universities, and small corporate and industrial sites. The turbine uses gearless design and direct-drive architecture to deliver high energy capture and low maintenance requirements to a mainstream wind energy marketplace.