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Environment

Portable Power Center wind turbine fits into a shipping container

By Adam Williams
October 20, 2012
Portable Power Center wind turbine fits into a shipping container
In an average wind speed of 12 mph (20 km/h), the PPC is said to produce 12 kW of power
In an average wind speed of 12 mph (20 km/h), the PPC is said to produce 12 kW of power
View 16 Images
In an average wind speed of 12 mph (20 km/h), the PPC is said to produce 12 kW of power
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In an average wind speed of 12 mph (20 km/h), the PPC is said to produce 12 kW of power
The PPC adjusts itself to best capture the wind, rotating 360 degrees in order to do so
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The PPC adjusts itself to best capture the wind, rotating 360 degrees in order to do so
The PPC can fit into a standard shipping container
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The PPC can fit into a standard shipping container
Each of the four PPC turbine blades are 21 ft (6.5 meters) long, and when operational, the entire height of the machine is around 80 ft (24 meters)
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Each of the four PPC turbine blades are 21 ft (6.5 meters) long, and when operational, the entire height of the machine is around 80 ft (24 meters)
In an average wind speed of 12 mph (20 km/h), the PPC is said to produce 12 kW of power
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In an average wind speed of 12 mph (20 km/h), the PPC is said to produce 12 kW of power
When packed into a shipping container, the PPC can be towed by a standard truck on unimproved road
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When packed into a shipping container, the PPC can be towed by a standard truck on unimproved road
The PPC only takes a couple of hours to be set up by a single person
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The PPC only takes a couple of hours to be set up by a single person
The PPC is still in development at the moment, but when it is released, complete units will be available for US$240,000
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The PPC is still in development at the moment, but when it is released, complete units will be available for US$240,000
The PPC adjusts itself to best capture the wind, rotating 360 degrees in order to do so
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The PPC adjusts itself to best capture the wind, rotating 360 degrees in order to do so
Each of the four PPC turbine blades are 21 ft (6.5 meters) long, and when operational, the entire height of the machine is around 80 ft (24 meters)
10/16
Each of the four PPC turbine blades are 21 ft (6.5 meters) long, and when operational, the entire height of the machine is around 80 ft (24 meters)
When packed into a shipping container, the PPC can be towed by a standard truck on unimproved road
11/16
When packed into a shipping container, the PPC can be towed by a standard truck on unimproved road
The PPC is still in development at the moment, but when it is released, complete units will be available for US$240,000
12/16
The PPC is still in development at the moment, but when it is released, complete units will be available for US$240,000
In an average wind speed of 12 mph (20 km/h), the PPC is said to produce 12 kW of power
13/16
In an average wind speed of 12 mph (20 km/h), the PPC is said to produce 12 kW of power
The PPC adjusts itself to best capture the wind, rotating 360 degrees in order to do so
14/16
The PPC adjusts itself to best capture the wind, rotating 360 degrees in order to do so
The PPC is still in development at the moment, but when it is released, complete units will be available for US$240,000
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The PPC is still in development at the moment, but when it is released, complete units will be available for US$240,000
In an average wind speed of 12 mph (20 km/h), the PPC is said to produce 12 kW of power
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In an average wind speed of 12 mph (20 km/h), the PPC is said to produce 12 kW of power
View gallery - 16 images

Wind turbines have the potential to be very useful in providing renewable power to remote communities which have little or no infrastructure. Unfortunately, larger turbines tend to require a relatively involved set-up, with specialist gear needed to construct and maintain the turbines. The Portable Power Center (PPC) by Uprise Energy innovates in this regard by providing a self-contained unit which folds within a shipping container, and can be transported by truck.

The PPC is rated as a 50-kilowatt (kW) turbine, and San Diego-based Uprise Energy states that it puts out enough power to provide electricity to up to 15 average U.S. homes during 12 mph (roughly 20 km/h) winds, with that number increasing to 71 homes in 20 mph (32 km/h) winds. Each of the turbine blades are 21 ft (6.5 meters) long, and when operational, the entire height of the machine is around 80 ft (24 meters), with a weight of roughly 12,000 pounds (5,300 kg).

The PPC is still in development at the moment, but when it is released, complete units will be available for US$240,000
The PPC is still in development at the moment, but when it is released, complete units will be available for US$240,000

The PPC features an Energy Conversion System (ECS) – essentially a proprietary on-board computer which monitors local weather patterns and adjusts itself to best capture the wind, rotating a full 360 degrees when necessary. The ECS adjusts blade pitch and speed, and if the wind becomes too strong, it will park the rotor and lay the mast down to avoid damage. Further to this, the ECS stores excess energy so that when the wind is low, the machine draws on the stored power, ensuring a constant supply of power.

Uprise Energy CEO Jonathan Knight told us that if the machine sees an average wind speed of 12 mph (20 km/h) over a 20 year period, the power it produces will work out at around $0.10 for each kilowatt per hour.

The PPC is still in development at the moment, but when it is released, complete units are expected to be available for US$240,000.

The promo video below offers further information on how the PPC will be transported and deployed.

Source: Uprise Energy via TreeHugger
Uprise Energy 50kW Portable Power Center

View gallery - 16 images

Tags

EnvironmentEnergyPortablePowerWind turbineShipping Container
14 comments
Adam Williams
Adam Williams
Adam scours the globe from his home in Spain in order to bring the best of innovative architecture and sustainable design to the pages of New Atlas. Most of his spare time is spent dabbling in music, tinkering with old Macintosh computers and trying to keep his even older VW bus on the road.

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14 comments
yrag
Nice. The one problem I see though (and sorry to be such a pessimist), is what is easy to drive to a location and set up is also easy to break down and drive off with—by thieves—especially is remote locations.
Michael Mantion
yrag I completely agree with you and I appreciate people like myself that offer ups flaws with products. The device is $240,000. More likley it will be set up in locations where people are, as you don't need this much power to run a remote weather station for example. I am fairly sure if the power goes out in the middle of the night that people will take notice. But I do agree with you that it is possible and in some countries profitable to steal such things. I am sure a simple GPS or lo-jack like device be enough protection.
Wole King
$240,000/unit! Now I can just buy one and ship it to China where it can be properly mass produced
MQ
WK (or was that HK) Rip it off in china all you like....
Likely any patentable ideas within are locked down so you will have to be happy selling it for a pittance in the 3rd world, not in the major markets for these expensive toys....
All the best...
ivan4
OK, how and where do they store the supposed excess energy and how long will this stored energy last at the 50kW level?
Also what autonomy does this stored energy give?
If there are no reasonable answers to those questions then this is only an extremely expensive toy. Not the sort of thing anyone would could rely on to provide base load electricity.
Sandra Baxendell
Remote aboriginal communities in Australia may be a market for you -even if only as a back up for rapid deployment
Neil Frandsen
At _last_! I grew up in south Alberta, where we have the powerful Chinook Winds. They often blow at 50mph, with gusts to 80mph, which blows Yankee semitrailer trucks off Highways 3 and 2... So _I_ have mused about all-electric semitruck & trailer, Emergency Power systems, which have 2 folding tower windturbines (1 at each end of the trailer), plus 5 layers of solarpower panels, which fold out to both sides. All of the above is there to recharge the lead-acid batteries stuffed into the 60 foot long trailer. All wheels, truck and trailer, have electric motors built-in, in order to avoid problems with lack of diesel fuel in a disaster zone. : UNfortuneately, a mite of calculation shows that even a 60 foot trailer cannot hold enough lead-acid batteries to give enough plate area for a long-term no-wind condition. Long term is more than 3 days, by the way. And you can do your own calculations. Note: the Japanese-designed Gigawatt storage battery, such as has been installed in Texas, is huge and heavy = about 25 trucks to transport it from the US West Coast to Texas...
Vintech
just assuming that the system delivers kwh as projected : 1/winds of 12 m/sec are not the most usual; to be realistic 8 m/s should be used for cost calculations 2/ what is included in the 240,000$ price tag ? the container ? batteries ? 3/ what is projected full cost $/kwh ? as usual the devil is in the details
morriss003
How about a second container semi containing lithium batteries? For transportation, they could be rigged as a tandem.
Jonathan Knight
Energy from a renewable source in remote regions is the principle objective. To be free from the constraints of power transmission systems. To provide an option to diesel generators. The first goal is to capture the winds energy, and then decide how to use it. Energy storage comes in many forms; Choices include, pump water, compress air, charge batteries, make water from air, dissociate hydrogen from biomass, flywheel, or use the electricity like any other generator, fed directly, or into the grid. Cost per kW is 10 cents, but in some cases cost is not relevent. A similar capacity solar system requires 10,000 SF of panels and costs double to set up. Diesel, if you can acquire fuel and safely transport to the remote location without pirating, over $1.00 per kW.
No product is the perfect solution for every application. There are many considerations (including security) to the application and cost evaluation.
The PPC, with its power and portability, is a game changer. It offers options previously not thought to be available.
Best regards, Jonathan @ Uprise
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