LOCATION

The power system illustrated was installed in the village of Ciparanti in the district of Ciamis in South Java in accordance with Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Co-Operatives for the Republic of Indonesia, State Development of Western Australia and Synergy Power Corporation Pty Ltd (formerly Survivor Energy Systems Pty Ltd) Western Australia, now all part of the Appropriate Energy family.

THE SYSTEM

The system was required to provide 24 hours sustainable 220V AC power appropriate to the village's domestic and light industrial power demands.

The DC electricity generated by a Model S20000 wind turbine designed to generate an average of 20kWh/day in the low wind regime of 4.5m/sec. was stored in a set of 24 solar cycle batteries. A specially designed control panel regulated the power input to these batteries. The 48V DC power was then inverted to 220V AC power to meet the load demand from 52 houses, 2 mosques, a civic centre, and a light industrial building. Each house had a limit switch to regulate the power consumption to that deemed appropriate for each house.

A DC diesel generator was used as a back up power source to charge the batteries when they reached their recommended discharge level during wind drought periods.

The system was fitted with monitoring equipment to record the wind speed, the power output of the turbines, the DC diesel usage and the load demand. The monitoring was carried out by LAPAN, a division of the Indonesian Department of Technology.

The pilot project has positively demonstrated the viability of S-20000 wind turbines as a primary energy source in the Indonesian rural electrification program.

INSTALLATION

The project design was carried out by AEI and installed by their Indonesian distributors PT Andhyka Sentrabersama. The system was commissioned in February 1993 by Mr Ralph Belden, the inventor of the Variable Area function principle for low wind speed turbines.

RELIABILITY

LAPAN issued a favourable report on the project in November 1993. The system had provided reliable power for over two years until its relocation to another test site.

MAINTENANCE

The S-20000 wind turbine requires an annual inspection and service by a certified and trained dealer or installer. The process should normally take approximately one hour to complete. Bearings need to be changed once every five years and would take less than a day to carry out. Battery electrolyte levels need to be maintained by the user within the specified range.

 EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATIONS

• 1 x S20000 wind turbine and tilt up tower
• 24 x 2V 700Ah lead acid batteries
• 1 x 4kVA inverter
• 1 x AEI control panel including turbine controller, system voltmeter, turbine 'amps in'
• 2 x AEI load resistors to control excess power and protect batteries from overcharging
• 1 x 4.8kVA DC diesel genset