Greetings ,

I have had a look through the topics / posts here and thought that I would add  a little something extra

Jason did point out the South African Wind Atlas -- there is however something of a convoluted procedure to assess the information

Not to mention the VERY confusing website

WASA Project

It is perhaps a bit easier just to go to here to GIS at Elsenburg

Wind_Atlas ( Map Server)

Their Cape Farm Mapper is also very useful;

Cape Farm Mapper

People have mentioned Weather reporting sites which normally do include wind speed and wind direction

Many of these are however at the "Macro" level and I just wonder how accurate they are for specific local areas ?

Even the SA Wind Atlas is not completely accurate when their figures are compared with weather station data

Does anyone have a list of private weather stations / know where to find such a listing ?

I am interested in historical wind speed and direction for a specific area  in the Karoo -  ( where there are already industrial wind farms and more planned )  for at least a year , longer being better.

Failing that I guess I need to go and set up my own anemometer / weather station. Can anyone suggest the best brands / devices ?

I understand that there are commercial companies already selling in this space so no offense there -- competition is healthy they tell us ...

There are two handy DIY sites I found

3kW off-grid Turbine

I believe the author of the link below has been on the site in this forum

Wind Turbine

I have some ideas similar to "DeepBass9" to mount one of these modern axial-flux generators on top of a windmill ( windpomp ) using the structure / scaffold and wheel / fan / rotor of the windmill but losing the old original gearbox and crank system. Rather using some form of direct drive ( longer shaft with multiple heavy duty bearings )

Does anyone have the specs / figures for size of wheel / speed / output / torque etc for SA standard windmills ?

In advance -- thanks for any suggestions / assistance

Hi ChrisFish, wind power in the Karoo is a no-brainer. Farmers there used it before EKSDOM, will use it after...

However, instead of using wind pump blades, which uses drag, "windlaaiers"  have mostly used more efficient aerodynamic blades. Even using the wind pump tower is questionable, since it is positioned where the water is, not where the wind blows most. 

For going off-grid with PV, even in low wind areas, a few 100W of wind power will be very useful on some nights, and it looks neat in daytime! Keep us posted, I will do the same with a system I plan to build with old aircraft propellers and direct drive washing machine motors.

Some explanation of the science and engineering

You Tube:  Engineering with Rosie

 

 

1 hour ago, Biteran said:

Wind energy works via wind turbines and wind farms, has already made a vital contribution to our energy needs. The windmills of our forebears have been transformed with modern technology into the electricity behemoths that are helping to power the grids of countries all over the world.

Thats the wanted perception.
The reality is far from it.
https://mothersagainstwindturbines.com/2015/02/08/wind-turbines-are-a-huge-disaster-the-whole-world-over/