Following on from a successful course in 2014 we spent 3 days in early March at the Pontypridd campus with students on the Renewable Energy Systems BSc course. This year we built a 1.8m diameter machine and spent a day erecting it at Nant y Cwm farm, a One Planet Development project which already hosts a V3 turbine which was installed last May.

The University have already invited us back next year so let us know if you’re in the area and would be interested in hosting a turbine.

On the way home we also made a couple of visits to potential future sites for turbine installations:

Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr Railway, a steam railway club working to revive Britain’s first operating public railway (est. 1803), the Carmarthenshire Tramroad, which closed to rail traffic in 1989, as a heritage centre with a full size steam and diesel demonstration railway. They are currently using a diesel generator to provide power for their work sessions but are interested in more sustainable off grid power sources.

Tipi Valley, a village of low impact dwellings including tipis, yurts, domes and thatched or turf-roofed round houses, in the Welsh hills which has been going for over 40 years! Loki has been busy building a new turfed roof house for his family overlooking the valley and is planning to provide off grid power from a V3 turbine and some solar panels!