Wind Empowerment
Association for the development of locally-built small wind turbines for sustainable rural electrification
Wind Empowerment is a global association for the development of locally-manufactured small wind turbines (SWTs) for sustainable rural electrification. It aims to strengthen the capacity of its members through collaboration and knowledge exchange to promote and support small wind technology as a viable solution for rural electrification.
Wind Empowerment News
New project footage of Wind Empowerment in Argentina
News from WISIONS posted on May 5th, 2020
Our collaborative project partner Wind Empowerment recently published some video footage about their work in the rural areas of Argentina and it become quite apparent to see here: They had great joy in setting up their self-constructed wind-water turbines! Take a look for yourself, watch this informative video about small wind turbines and their impact on rural areas and learn more about our projects with Wind Empowerment!
Video description by Wind Empowerment:
During 2019 we implemented the Project: “Improvement and diffusion of the water pumping system with wind energy and electronic control. Solutions for rural residents of the Patagonian steppe of Argentina.” The objective that we share between Fundación 500RPM and LCA-UNSL (Laboratory of Automatic Control of the National University of San Luis), is to develop a robust, effective, efficient and accessible pumping system for rural residents of Argentina and the world.
The developed system consists of: a 350W Piggott wind turbine; a diaphragm pump (popularly known as a “toad pump”); an electronic system consisting of a small bicycle motor and an electronic board (this allows the system to be operated without the use of batteries).
 Newer posts |
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
Older posts  |
Upcoming Events
The Wind Empowerment 2019-2020 Webinar series will begin soon! Past webinars are available on WE's YouTube channeland on their website.
Introduction
SWTs can offer viable off-grid power solutions where strong wind resources (4–7m/s and higher) are available and evenly distributed throughout the year, or in regions where the combination of small wind technology and solar PV can provide a reliable power supply.
Wind Empowerment was founded in 2011 at the World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal. The aim was to bridge the geographical gap between its members by providing a global platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration. It has since consolidated and now represents dozens of member organisations, consisting of wind turbine manufacturers, NGOs, universities, social enterprises, cooperatives, training centres, as well as over 1,000 individual members across the world.Mission & Goals
Wind Empowerment supports the development of locally-built wind turbines for sustainable rural electrification by strengthening the capacity of its members globally through:
- Building and sharing financial and human resource connections
- Performing joint technical research, sharing technical information and collaborating on key vendor relationships
- Strengthening understanding of business and social models for the effective implementation of small wind technology
- Managing projects, offering consultancy services and developing/distributing products in line with the association’s guiding principles
Activities
Wind Empowerment acts as both a central knowledge bank and a facilitator of direct connections between its members (currently 39 organisations).
Conference
Wind Empowerment conferences take place every 2 years and are key in building and maintaining the relationships between individuals and organisations that form the basis of the network. The most recent conference took place in Kayathar and Chennai, India in December 2018. You can find all the outcomes on on Wind Empowerment's Facebook page and on this detailed Review.
The webpage of Wind Empowerment is a rich source of information and serves as an exchange platform for the members, as well as for other people interested in the network and the technology. It covers not only recent news and event information, but also contains a library of resources. In addition, lively dialogue takes place in the discussion forum and the webinars offer background information on relevant current topics.
Six Working Groups (WGs) have been set up to actively address the key barriers facing the development of small wind technology for rural development:
