A Wind Powered LED Street Lamp
Originally published on the ECOreport.
Noordforce’s Proceed 1 wind generator comes with lithium batteries that are fully charged after a half day of moderate winds and do not require another charge for ten days. Company spokesperson Anna Wätjen said it is difficult to imagine there being ten days without wind in this blustery region. Their data shows that the coastal regions of Northern Germany have enough wind to recharge the batteries at least every 5-7 days. A wind powered LED street lamp is being installed on the tiny island of Juist.
The First Wind Powered LED Street Lamp
By the end of the year, there could be as many as ten lamps on Juist, and other orders are coming in.
“Due to the wind-data we analyzed, we assume there is a market for about 3000 lamps across coastal areas in Northern Germany,” said Wätjen.
The city of Oldenburg in Holstein plans to install a dozen this fall, and another lamp is going to Stipsdorf, Segeberg.
“Every place that has little sunshine but wind is suitable for the Proceed 1 wind generator. Other than from places in Northern Germany, we have direct inquiries from places in Sweden and the Netherlands, Spain and Canary Islands, South America (Chile, Argentina), Iran, South Africa and Namibia,” said Wätjen.
In the company sales brochure, it says:
“Think of rural and structurally weak regions in our vicinity and all over the world: Unlit bike- and footpaths between villages and small settlements; wide areas in Africa, South America and Australia, which are, if at all, supplied with loud, smoky fuel generators. Where else: airstrips in the outback, shelters in the mountains, the Lodge on the desert island. There are many alternative solutions for interior lighting, but as a German saying goes: at night it‘s just darker than outside. Unless you have a PROCEED 1 that illuminates the darkest night self-sufficient and quiet as whisper.” [2. noordforce, PROCEED 1 Windgenerator Green Lighting to Save the Climate]
Remote Villages lacking adequate Lighting
Schleswig-Holstein based designer Peer Langemak and his Noordforce team spent a year developing their product [3. noordforce, Der Sturm ist da…] after discovering that many remote villages still lack adequate lighting.
A similar product, combining wind and solar energy, is in use in Spain’s Catalonia region.
Wätjen said solar is not a good solution in Northern Germany because “there is rarely enough sunshine during daytime to power solar cells.”
Wind powered street lamps cost less than €4,000 and do not require grid connection.
Representatives from Juist discovered a Proceed 1 model at a lighting fair.
Find out more at noordforce’s website.
Top Photo credits: Image from the brochure “Self-Sufficient Outdoor Lighting with the Proceed I Windgenerator” – courtesy noordforce; Two photos of noordforce’s self-sufficient wind-powered LED street lamp – Courtesy noordforce
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest CleanTechnica.TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
