Overview:
EWB@WSU is designing a wind-solar hybrid system to be installed at the WSU Organic Farm. Our project objectives are twofold. First, we wish to put the farm off the grid using a sustainable energy technique. This will support the farm manager’s goal in providing a self-sustaining farm. Loads will include a greens washing machine, power tool chargers, scales, lighting, and a computer for inventory. Second, we wish to provide an educational link for the university community to become more involved in renewable energy. One of the important pieces of this link will be a real time transfer of solar, wind, and power information to the Renewable Energy lab on campus. We plan to install a weather system at the site to measure wind speed, wind direction, light intensity, and temperature. This data will accompany the current and voltage measurements in the transmission to the university.
Timeline:
The Project began September 2009 and will be completed by summer of 2011. “Completion” includes implementing debugging, and teaching users how to correctly maintain and use the system.
Further Information:
For information on the structural components, contact Kevin Gowan. For information on the data acquisition system, contact Richard Oare.
