BarberWind Turbines

Thoroughly enjoyed meeting with delegates from the U.S. Department of Commerce Clean Energy for South Asia program.
The program invited a delegation of energy experts from Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka to the United States for a two-week program in support of the U.S. Government’s Clean EDGE Asia initiative to assist the Indo-Pacific’s clean energy transition and support the deployment U.S. technologies and services.

Our turbine is ideal for distributed generation opportunities where their communities are more remote and still dependent on diesel. We uncovered several opportunites to explore further.

GREAT group of experts...I hope they enjoyed the rest of their trip.

Check out the fully assembled generator platform! This is a Marelli 800kW generator that is marine grade and perfect for island and near-shore installations. The tires are custom made for us and are solid urethane. The turbine rim will turn the tires which in turn will fire the generator. This generator platform is one of the key pieces of engineering that makes our turbine so revolutionary!

That's Chris Creasman of Daedalus Industrial who is on site with Jerry to consult on wiring the panels inside the tower. Thanks Chris!



Hood Heating Air Plumbing Electric inc Concordia Technologies LLC
Concordia Chamber of Commerce Electronic Power Design NRECA
CloudCorp Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc. Sunflower Electric Power Corporation Gerard Tank & Steel, Inc. Daedalus Industrial

And here's the latest from Concordia...
Late last week the 16 rim sections were moved to the turbine site in preparation for welding them into position. And then today, SNOW!!! 😲



Hood Heating Air Plumbing Electric inc Concordia Technologies LLC Concordia Chamber of Commerce Electronic Power Design NRECA CloudCorp Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc. Sunflower Electric Power Corporation Gerard Tank & Steel, Inc.

Check out what's been going on in the factory! Concordia Technologies has finished manufacture of our innovative, sleek generator platform. The platform will be 130 feet up the tower, 100 feet below the main axle. The rim of the turbine rotor will rest on the tires. As the rotor spins, the tires spin firing the generator. This is why our turbine doesn't need a nacelle or a gearbox! Boom!



Hood Heating Air Plumbing Electric inc Concordia Technologies LLC
Concordia Chamber of Commerce Electronic Power Design NRECA CloudCorpPrairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc. Sunflower Electric Power Corporation Gerard Tank & Steel, Inc.

Cool photos taken by Project Manager Ron Berni from inside the wind turbine tower. The first photo is looking up though the yaw bearing to the top of the tower and the second is of the four drive motors for the yaw bearing. The yaw system allows the tower to rotate the rotor and blades into the wind for maximum efficiency.



Hood Heating Air Plumbing Electric inc Concordia Technologies LLC Concordia Chamber of Commerce Electronic Power Design NRECA CloudCorp Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc. Sunflower Electric Power Corporation Gerard Tank & Steel, Inc.

Two pieces of news this morning from the turbine site!

1.) The transformer has been installed!
2.) A cat has joined the set up crew! (Pictured here to Ron Berni's right.)



Hood Heating Air Plumbing Electric inc Concordia Technologies LLC Concordia Chamber of Commerce Electronic Power Design NRECA CloudCorp Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc. Sunflower Electric Power Corporation Gerard Tank & Steel, Inc.

The turbine site this morning...such great light! The welders and their equipment are gone and we are on to the next phase. This photo shows the entire tower and main axle. Currently we are installing the ladders and electrical panels in the tower.

While construction on the wind turbine continued at the site, Jerry paid a visit to students at Cloud County Community College to talk about our turbine technology and Distributed Energy Resources. Pictured are Jerry, Renewable Energy Program Department Chair Kit Thompson, Instructor Craig Smith, and students in the Wind Energy Technology program.

This is the scene at the wind turbine site in Concordia for at least the first half of this week. The welders are busy both inside and outside the tower. The good news is that it should be sunny and warm for the crew!



Hood Heating Air Plumbing Electric inc Concordia Technologies LLC
Concordia Chamber of Commerce Electronic Power Design NRECA
CloudCorp Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc. Sunflower Electric Power Corporation Gerard Tank & Steel, Inc.

Lots going on at the turbine site in Concordia! This series of photos shows the use of two small coordinated cranes to place the tower sections on cradles for welding. This turbine will be assembled on the ground and lifted into the air using its own built-in hydraulic lifting system!



Hood Heating Air Plumbing Electric inc Concordia Technologies LLC
Concordia Chamber of Commerce Electronic Power Design CloudCorp NRECA Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc. Sunflower Electric Power Corporation Gerard Tank & Steel, Inc.

The crew at Concordia Technologies welding tower sections 5 and 6 in the factory. When this bitter cold abates, the welded sections will be hauled to the wind turbine site. It was -14 degrees in Concordia this morning!



Hood Heating Air Plumbing Electric inc Concordia Technologies LLC Concordia Chamber of Commerce Electronic Power Design CloudCorp NRECA Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc. Sunflower Electric Power Corporation Gerard Tank & Steel, Inc.

Weather in Kansas! Yesterday it was -4 degrees. Today it's a balmy 9. Snow is expected for this weekend so the crew will wait until next week to haul the remaining tower sections to the site. Baby, it's COLD out there!



Hood Heating Air Plumbing Electric inc Concordia Technologies LLC Concordia Chamber of Commerce Electronic Power Design CloudCorp NRECA Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc. Gerard Tank & Steel, Inc.

Friday was an exciting day in Concordia, Kansas. The crew transported and installed the first section of wind turbine tower at the site! When it is complete, the 800kW wind turbine will stretch 330 feet into the Kansas sky.



Hood Heating Air Plumbing Electric inc Concordia Technologies LLC
Concordia Chamber of Commerce Electronic Power Design CloudCorp NRECAPrairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc. Gerard Tank & Steel, Inc.

Jerry Barber (right) and Ron Berni at the turbine site in the SNOW! It was 14 degrees this morning. This photo was taken just as Jerry realized I was watching him through the construction camera!



Hood Heating Air Plumbing Electric inc Concordia Technologies LLC Concordia Chamber of Commerce Electronic Power Design CloudCorp NRECA Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc.

After a brief respite for the holidays we are back in action at the wind turbine site! The professionals from Hood Heating Air and Electric have installed the conduit for the wires extending from the power poles to the transformer and disconnect. Next week we will pour the concrete pads. PS The wind is blowing 30mph in Concordia today! 😀💨



Hood Heating Air Plumbing Electric inc Concordia Chamber of Commerce Electronic Power Design NRECA CloudCorp

Check out these cool drone photos of the wind turbine site now that the foundation is in and the earth has been replaced and smoothed for construction! Its hard to imagine all the activity that has taken place here over the last few months! Stay tuned as we shift our posts to manufacturing and construction of the wind turbine tower.

Tammy Jones Barber Debbie O'Hara

The backfilling and packing of the dirt around the wind turbine foundation is complete. All you can see is the circle of anchor bolts sticking up where the wind turbine tower will be installed. After completing the backfilling, the team from James Coy Enterprises graded the acreage just south of the turbine tower location to provide a nice, level working area for assembling the tower sections and rim. Great job by the wonderful people at James Coy Enterprises!

Tammy Jones Barber 'Hara

Back at the site...the concrete is finished curing and the team from James Coy Enterprises is busy backfilling and packing the dirt. This site will be unrecognizable in just a few days!

Another milestone today for BarberWind Turbines! Our turbine blades are in production. The fiberglass enters the production line in these strings and comes out the other side shaped into one long precision air foil. This process ends with the air foil exiting through the saw where it is cut into 5-foot wind turbine blades. And then it's off to the paint shop. Thank you to Valmont Composite Structures for this amazing technology.

At Daedalus Industrial, Kevin Scheffler and Chris Creasman inspect a yaw motor gear drive. Our 800kW wind turbine will utilize four of these to turn the upper part of the tower.

Friends of BarberWind Turbines, Tom and Sherry Sultenfuss took a small detour on their road trip home from Colorado to visit our turbine site. Thanks for the photos Tom and Sherry! And it seems that their sweet dog Mazie enjoyed the pit stop as well.

More of the pieces are coming together at Daedalus Industrial. The generator has arrived and is being inspected by Jerry and Tammy, Chris Creasman, Kevin Scheffler, Dave Mathias and Buff Williams. The big silver box is the cable tray and walkway that will house the cables for the outgoing generated power from the wind turbine. Check and check!

Tower Section 2 is almost complete! This is the tower that has the ears for the hydraulic pump used in our lifting system. The ears looked so huge in the shop!...but not so much mounted on the tower. It's so exciting, and gratifying, to see all the parts and pieces coming together. A big THANK YOU to the team at Concordia Technologies!


Jerry Barber Tammy Jones Barber Debbie O'Hara

Check out the hydraulic cylinder for our wind turbine lifting system! It arrived to Concordia Technologies last week! Our lifting system eliminates the need for a giant crane to erect the turbine ($$$) PLUS it allows the turbine to be lowered in advance of severe weather or a hurricane, improving grid resilience for island nations and others currently dependent on diesel. So proud to be bringing resilience to those who need it.


Jerry Barber Tammy Jones Barber Debbie O'Hara

More progress at the wind turbine site in Concordia...These photos show the rebar bridge that connects the wind turbine tower pad to the smaller pad for the hydraulic lift.


Jerry Barber Tammy Jones Barber Debbie O'Hara

The team from BarberWind Turbines checking out our electrical controls and panels being developed by Daedalus Industrial in Easley, SC. We are fortunate to have such specialized expertise in our back yard!


Jerry Barber Tammy Jones Barber Debbie O'Hara

More of the team gathers at the site. The rebar is done and the electrical is being readied for placement.


Tammy Jones Barber Jerry Barber Debbie O'Hara

Here are a couple more photos from the factory where Jerry and Cass are checking out the tower rings and components for the rim. The 200-foot rotor will have 64 cables that extend to the hub. Each cable will have 20, five-foot blades that individually pitch themselves to available wind.

Jerry Barber Tammy Jones Barber Debbie O'Hara

And look who dropped by the site to say hello! From left: James Coy of James Coy Enterprises who is installing the foundation. Tammy and Jerry Barber, and Lois and Jim Lervold who leased us this little piece of Kansas for our wind turbine demonstration project. Grateful to these people.

Tammy Jones Barber Jerry Barber Debbie O'Hara

Meanwhile, back at the factory...Concordia Technologies, LLC is making great progress on the wind turbine tower. Concordia Technologies is known for their high quality welding work which is key to the integrity of our tower structure.

Tammy Jones Barber Debbie O'Hara Jerry Barber

Check out this amazing drone's-eye view of our wind turbine site in Concordia, Kansas taken by James Coy (of James Coy Enterprises) who is installing the turbine foundation. The team is leveling the anchor bolt assembly on the jack stands, the base for our turbine pedestal. That's Jerry and Tammy upper right by the hole and I'm waving from the bottom center. Thanks James!
Jerry Barber Tammy Jones Barber Debbie O'Hara

Kansas Trip - Day 2 - Bright and early Tammy Barber and Debbie O'Hara sat down with Toby Nosker of KNCK radio to discuss the wind turbine project and the relationships being built in Concordia and in Kansas overall. We are grateful to the community for welcoming BarberWind Turbines so openly!

You can catch the interview here:
http://www.ncktoday.com/talk-shows

Tammy Jones Barber Jerry Barber Debbie O'Hara 1390 KNCK

Trip to Kansas - Day 1 - Upon our arrival in Concordia the first thing we did was visit the site. The mud slab and first layer of rebar are in place. The anchor bolts and cages have been assembled on the rim and are ready for installation. The jack stands are installed and ready to receive the anchor bolts tomorrow. It's SO exciting to be here in person!
Tammy Jones Barber Debbie O'Hara Jerry Barber

These 16 rim sections are each 39 feet long and will be joined to create our 200 foot in diameter rotor. That's 628 feet of rolled steel. Our rim drives the two tires that turn the generator, eliminating the need for a gearbox.

Tammy Jones BarberJerry BarberDebbie O'Hara

Tower 3 in the paint shop. RAL7035 match on the outside to comply with FAA guidelines! Check!

Tammy Jones Barber Jerry Barber Debbie O'Hara