Iskra rebrands to "Evance" as it launches R9000 small wind turbine
Friday 15 May 2009
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| The Evance R9000 is designed for rural buildings, schools and light commercial applications, its manufacturer says |
Small wind turbine manufacturer Iskra has rebranded itself ahead of an "aggressive" expansion plan centred around a new 5kW wind turbine it launched this week.
The Loughborough company is renaming itself "Evance", pinning its hopes to a new R9000 product it describes as an "advanced" wind turbine designed for rural homes, schools and farms as well as light commercial applications.
Developed over the last two years, the three-bladed machine replaces the company's "popular and reliable" AT5-1 turbine.
About £18,000 fully installed - depending on the individual project - the turbine starts generating power in wind speeds of 2.5 metres per second, and achieves full rated power levels at 12 m/s.
The machine is called the R9000 because its manufacturer believes it will generate 9,000 kWh of power each year at average wind speeds of 5m/s.
Referring to the power generated over a year, rather than the 5kW power output rating would help the consumer understand the effectiveness of what they are buying, the company believes.
Speaking to New Energy Focus shortly before the launch of the new turbine, Pete Allen, chief executive of Evance, said: "This will become the benchmark standard that will allow a consumer to know what they are getting - our turbine can generate the same power as some 6kW turbines, or even to a popular 10kW turbine.
"The power rating doesn't tell you how efficient the turbine is," Mr Allen added.
Testing
Performance testing on the new turbine has included blowing £1,000 worth of sand at the blades at speeds of 60mph, to test its resilience against airborne particles. The turbine will survive in wind speeds of up to 60m/s, according to its maker.
Evance - a brand name representing an amalgamation of 'energy' and 'advance' - is offering a five-year warranty on its new turbine as standard, saying it was confident in the machine's durability.
The turbine is designed to meet the IEC61400-2 international standard, and the company is currently going through the process of accrediting to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme.
Resellers
As it launched the new brand and turbine, Evance announced this week that four new resellers have joined its network of distributors.
We are now in a
phase of aggressive expansion.
Shetland Wind Power in Scotland, Slawinski in Poland and ASP Energie Technik in Germany join Irish company Regen in offering the new R9000 turbine. Evance expects to export around 50% of its wind turbines over the next 12 months, it said.
Mr Allen said: "We are now in a phase of aggressive expansion - in the US and the rest of the world, but we are currently expanding particularly into Europe."
As Iskra, the company has taken a "sober approach" to the recent economic slow-down, expecting to ship out around 400 turbines in the next 12 months. However, the company's Loughborough facility has the capability to build between 80 and 100 machines each month.
Mr Allen said payback for the turbine was about 10 years in "reasonable winds" in the UK, but with feed-in tariffs being introduced in April 2010, that could reduce.
Speaking to the BWEA's International Small Wind Conference last month, however, Mr Allen pointed out that if the government provided initial support for UK manufacturers to mass-produce their turbines, costs could be cut by 50% (see this New Energy focus story).
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