By: Deborah Johnson Wood
An affordably priced residential wind turbine that could generate up to 20 percent of a home’s electricity is under development at GVSU’s Muskegon-based Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC). The turbine, invented by MAREC Executive Director Imad Mahawili, is just 36 inches in diameter and will retail for about $2,000.
“This is breakthrough wind turbine technology developed with specific focus on low cost manufacturing and high efficiency,” says Mahawili.
EarthTronics, a Muskegon-based maker of energy efficient lighting, licensed the technology from Mahawili’s company E-net LLC. EarthTronics is testing the product, constructing prototypes, and plans to produce the first wind turbines in early 2009. The company plans to develop a full line of what it has dubbed WindTronics Turbines.
“We believe this product with revolutionize wind technology,” says Reg Adams, spokesperson for EarthTronics.
Adams plans to use West Michigan vendors and subcontractors to produce the turbine and other WindTronics products. The first turbine will target residential and commercial markets. A smaller turbine will target Third World markets.
The production of the turbine in early 2009 will correspond with EarthTronic’s move from the MAREC facility to a high-tech facility in downtown Muskegon.
Source: Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center
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Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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