Wednesday 24 November 2010

A Quick Update..

I know that it has been a while since I updated this blog, but in my defence we have been very busy here at The Power Collective. Since the last update we have made a few small (but important) improvements to the design, and started manufacturing RidgeBlades. The finalised design will look something like the artist's impression that you see here, although in this picture the scale is wrong, and the RidgeBlade is actually smaller than shown. The first batch of units are all due to be installed on locations in the UK and in the Netherlands for a period of testing and evaluation. The test sites include domestic houses, industrial, commercial and agricultural buildings. We Expect to receive the first batch of manufactured RidgeBlades in the beginning of December 2010, and we will be updating the website in the new year with specifications, initial test results and photographs of the installed turbines (assuming that the snow holds off long enough for us to actually get on roofs safely!). Talking of websites, we will soon be moving most of our information over to www.ridgeblade.com, so be ready to update your bookmarks.

On other matters, it seems that we will not be able to get the RidgeBlade tested against the Microgeneration Certification Scheme. This is not because of any problem with the turbine, but simply because the standard does not make any provision for "unusual" types of wind turbines such as ours.. Until this is resolved, it does mean that The RidgeBlade will not be eligible for the enhanced feed in Tariff in the UK. Rest assured that we are working hard to rectify this, but we do not expect this to be a quick job..

Interest in the RidgeBlade has continued to be phenomenal, and we are still receiving enquiries form all over the world. We simply don't have time to respond to all of them, but we do log every enquiry and will keep you all informed when we are in a position to start selling. In the meantime we have been having a number of very interesting conversations with potential users including social housing providers in the UK and Europe as well as some very large commercial and industrial companies, so watch this space!