The Outer Banks Brewing Station is the first wind powered brewery in the United States! We were also the first business to produce wind power on the Outer Banks. We pride ourselves in being innovative and conscious about the environment, while helping others learn as much as they can about renewable energy and sustainability.
Wind Power
- Wind power is the fastest-growing and cheapest source of renewable electricity. US prices have fallen from $0.35/kWh in the mid ’80s to $0.03 – $0.04 kWh at prime wind sites today.
- Wind energy was responsible for 30% of the new generating capacity that came on line in the US in 2007. Wind has been the fastest growing energy technology in the world for the past decade.
- Small wind turbines do not burn fuel, so they produce no air pollution. When you generate your own electricity using wind power, you reduce the amount of electricity generated by conventional sources, including fossil fuel and nuclear power plants. In the
case of nuclear power, you directly reduce the amount of radioactive waste produced.
Our Brewery’s Wind Turbine
- Manufacturer: Bergey Windpower, Norman, OK (www.bergey.com)
- Model: BWC Excel, Rotor Diameter 23ft, Self-Supported 80ft Lattice Tower
- Upwind 3 Blade System nominally rated at 10kw at a wind speed of 31mph
- Maximum Designed Wind Speed: 135mph
- The turbine has AUTOFURL an automatic storm protection system that begins furling when winds exceed 35mph. The hinged tail furls up to 89 degrees to provide overspeed control. The EXCEL has no shut-down wind speed. The turbine can be manually shut-down using a furling winch installed at the base of the tower.
- The turbine supplements the power we use here at the OBBS and saves us between $150 and $250 per month on our electric bill (depending on the month). We use 100% of the power the turbine generates. Net metering (or the selling of generated power back to NC Dominion Power) in NC is still not cost effective as Dominion charges us on average $ .11/kWh and pays us their avoided cost or approximately $.035/kWh for the same power!
- Turbine cost: approximately $50,000
- At $200/month using the Net Present Value method our EXCEL will pay for itself in about 11 years. It is designed for 30+ years of service and has a 10 year warranty.
- A 10 kW Bergey GridTek system will offset approximately 1.2 tons of air pollutants and 250 tons of greenhouse gases over its operating life.