There’s a new, small wind turbine on the block! True North Power NG inc (Canada)., former distributor of the problem prone Lakota, is now manufacturing their own turbine, the “Wind Arrow”. The way we see it, any reasonable looking turbine that doesn’t have to cross the ocean to get to us is worth checking out. Their recent addition of this new turbine, the Arrow, will be interesting if it can prove to be durable in the field and they can get some marketing behind them.
The Arrow takes a different approach to overspeed protection according to David Cooke, president of True North Power NG. He says, “It’s equipped with an “intelligent controller,” directed by computer software, that slows the turbine down during high winds, then speeds it back up when winds return to normal. This allows it to achieve more even and reliable power generation.” One problem we see is that there is no passive, mechanical overspeed protection. This will mean the reliability of the software directed, ground-based controller will be key to its success.
Overall it sounds like the company is making good progress. In an interview with The Record Carignan, Vice President of TNP, said “We’ve been quoting like crazy,” but the credit crisis in the U.S. is slowing business down. Cooke says the company is not in the black yet, but he’s confident it will be. “We’re going to be profitable, but not this year (2009).”
Overall, we give True North Power NG two thumbs up for making a push into the small wind arena with their Canadian manufactured machine. They have also been very helpful, and responsive, to all our inquiries (which seems to be an increasingly rare trait among most small wind turbine manufacturers)!
“Copyright information provided by TRUE-NORTH Power Systems NG Inc. with permission”