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ural Peru is home to millions of
people who live their lives without
access to electricity and for most,
the possibility of the national grid reaching
them is not on the horizon. The solution
could come in the form of micro generation,
and for us (Volunteer WindAid) this meant
the installation of small-scale wind power.
Founded in 2010, the aim of Volunteer
WindAid is to use wind energy to provide
electricity to communities in Peru who
currently have no access to the national
electricity grid. The NGO also aims to
promote the use of renewable and
appropriate technologies as a solution to
energy generation in Peru.
The completed volunteer wind turbine
as installed in Nuevo Manzanilla
The volunteer program
July 2010 saw Volunteer WindAid host 12
volunteers from six different countries, all of
whom came to Peru to learn and participate
in an exciting and new wind energy project.
The aim of the 5-week program was for the
volunteers to work together in Trujillo to
build a wind turbine for the community of
Nuevo Manzanilla, situated in the mountains
near Cajamarca in the north of Peru. The
community is home to 250 people, who
make their living from producing milk and
have no access to the national electricity grid
due to their remote location.
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The volunteers spent the first four weeks of
the program eager to learn about wind
energy and busily building the wind turbine
in the Trujillo based workshop. Together, we
manufactured and assembled the complete
wind turbine, including a unique tail logo
design to commemorate the volunteers
taking part.
For us, the climax of the program came in
the final week, where we lived with families
in the community whilst the wind turbine
was being installed. The community proved
to be incredible hosts, offering us the tastes
of local food and even the chance to join in
with the annual celebrations of San Lorenzo.
At the end of the project we were left
breathless (well who wouldn’t be at 4000m
altitude!) as we partied away into the night
with lights on and music blaring. This whole
experience not only gave us the chance to
bond with the community for who we built
the wind turbine, but also to appreciate life
without electricity for a short period and see
first hand the immediate impact the wind
turbine would have in the community.
Environmental awareness
The community of Nuevo Manzanilla is very
conscious of the financial and environmental
benefits of renewable technologies and their
effort to obtain electrification was never a
case of using diesel generators. One family
currently use a small solar panel to provide
light and charge small batteries, whilst a few
other community members are very keen on
using solar ovens for cooking.
The wind turbine
was built in Trujillo
by the volunteers
The wind turbine
generates electricity
for the school building
The wind turbine is now
a leading example of how
to generate e lectr ic ity
whilst protect ing the
environment the
community rely on for
their l ivel ihoods.
Community benefits
Along with the wind turbine, we also installed
electrics into the school building. This
comprised of lights and plug sockets for each
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of the four rooms, allowing the community
school to now make use of televisions and
computers for the school children and
enabling the community to use the building
in the evenings.
The amount of energy available to the
community is much greater than the school
building requires so there is scope for the
community to further extend the
electricification to the surrounding houses
and buildings in the future, allowing more
people to benefit from the wind turbine.
This new expansion of lights will allow
people to work safely and more productively
in the night.
Already, the community has plans to begin a
battery recharging station for the local
people, saving both time and money in
comparison to the previous necessary trip to
the nearest town of San Marcos (a 5 hour
journey on the lechera – milk truck). This
recharging station will enable more people in
the community to use batteries and have
electricity in their homes, whilst at the same
time generate revenue for the community to
maintain the wind turbine into the future.
Members of the community
installed the wind turbine
alongside the volunteers
The wind turbine
The installed wind turbine is rated at
2,000W and has a peak output of 2,500W.
The wind turbine has a blade diameter of
4m and a tower height of 9m. Based on the
measured wind speeds at the site, the wind
turbine is estimated to generate 6 kWh/day
for the community, thus, coupled with the
bank of batteries, has enough energy to
power the installed electrics in the school for
over 4 days. The wind turbine should
continue to generate clean electricity for the
community for the next 15 years.
The project was funded by the participating
volunteers, who each paid a contributing fee
to the cost of building the wind turbine.
For more information please visit
www.windaid.org or contact James Low at
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