'Build a small wind turbine' construction course in Catalonia

'Nea Guinea' has been organizing small wind turbine construction workshops since 2009 and has empowered many people with the knowledge of harnessing power from the wind.

Nea Guinea joins forces with Som Comunitat and the Catalan Integral Cooperative in order to organize a wind turbine construction course in Porqueres, Catalonia. The course will be held in English with simultaneous translation in Spanish.

The wind turbines built in the workshops are based on the designs of Hugh Piggott, a renewable energy expert living in the off-grid community of Scoraig (Scotland), as described in his 'Wind Turbine Recipe Book'.

During this one week course a 600W small wind turbine with 2.4m rotor diameter will be constructed from scratch, using simple raw materials like wood for the blades, steel for the mounting frame and tail, copper wire for the coils and neodymium magnets cast in resin for the generator.

The wind turbine will be the product of enthusiastic team work, as we will work in groups focusing on woodworking, metalworking and generator fabrication, along with short breaks to share what we have learned with the whole team.

Although most of the course is practical, aspects of off-grid renewable energy systems will be covered in an introductory presentation emphasizing on different applications such as solar panels, solar pumps, wind and hydro turbines.

The course is ideal for people practicing permaculture design as it is a specialist renewable energy course focused on small scale windelectric systems.

The course will be held in English and is intended to be suitable for all levels of experience and abilities, so no prior theoretical or practical knowledge is required.