Weaver Wind Energy designed and fabricated small-scale wind turbines and energy storage systems from 2006 through 2021. Although the business is no longer active, I still hold onto a vision where cultural change might someday make a renaissance of small-scale wind energy systems more likely. Fossil fuel addiction, resistance to change, privilege, inequality, consumer culture and corporate power are not friendly to those inclined to a small is beautiful, community-oriented worldview. In the face of all this, I’m sometimes asked: What can or should one do? I suggest becoming collapse aware.
Our last major project at WWE was the development of a 2 kW active-furling small wind turbine—the W2—paired with lithium ion battery storage and an extensive web interface. The Arduino firmware which controls the system is now in the public domain under a GPL-3.0 license. The W2 turbine and system is described in detail in a still actively-maintained web page—the W2 System Manual.
Several W2 turbine components including alternators, nacelle frames complete with electronics, blade hubs, tower adapter vibration isolators, and controllers are for sale. Assembly of a complete, working W2 turbine would require fabrication of blades (not as daunting as it sounds), a few simple tail parts, and a suitable tower + adapter. Assistance with getting the software up-and-running would also be necessary. I would be happy to work with interested parties to make this happen anywhere in the world. Contact me at aweaver@weaverwindenergy.com for more information.