Southwest Windpower (SWWP) was a

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

manufacturer established in 1987 based in

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The company specialized in small, reliable battery charging wind generators that complement

photovoltaics Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

(solar energy or PV) in supplying energy to rural areas. Southwest Windpower closed for business in the first quarter of 2013. The remaining Skystream assets were acquired by Xzeres wind in July 2013. Xzeres CEO Frank Greco had been the CEO of Southwest Windpower.

Certifications

In 2000, SWWP became the first wind turbine manufacturer to receive

Underwriters Laboratories The UL enterprise is a global safety science company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, composed of three organizations, UL Research Institutes, UL Standards & Engagement and UL Solutions. Established in 1894, the UL enterprise was founded a ...

(UL) and

International Electrotechnical Commission The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC; in French: ''Commission électrotechnique internationale'') is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and r ...

(IEC) certification, for its AIR series wind turbines. Southwest Windpower’s latest turbine, the Skystream 3.7, has a rotor diameter of about and can generate up to half an average U.S. home's energy in optimal winds. It is the first residential-scale wind generator designed specifically for the grid-connected home or small business. Skystream was the first device to be spun out of the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Program. That program includes the

National Renewable Energy Laboratory The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research and d ...

Wind Technology Center in Boulder CO. Andrew Kruse estimates that one Skystream will produce about 100 MWh of energy over its 20-year design life. At a typical total installed cost of $15,000, that gives an average energy cost of 9 cents per kilowatthour. In 2011 the company received a Statement of Compliance from

Germanischer Lloyd The Germanischer Lloyd SE was a classification society based in the city of Hamburg, Germany. It ceased to exist as an independent entity in September 2013 as a result of its merger with Norway's DNV (Det Norske Veritas) to become DNV GL. Before ...

which confirms that Skystream 3.7 meets the requirements of the IEC Standard 61400-2:2006, Edition 2, "Design requirements for Small wind turbines," which addresses safety philosophy, quality assurance and engineering integrity of the turbine. The Small Wind Certification Council (SWCC) issued a consumer label and certification in 2011 that validated manufacturer claims for Skystream 3.7 performance, reliability and safety were accurate. A Skystream 3.7 has been tested as an

airborne wind turbine An airborne wind turbine is a design concept for a wind turbine with a rotor supported in the air without a tower, thus benefiting from the higher velocity and persistence of wind at high altitudes, while avoiding the expense of tower construction ...

in an Altaeros

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

-filled balloon.Wesoff, Eric
"High Altitude Wind Demo From Altaeros"
''Greentech Media'', 20 April 2012. Retrieved: 11 July 2012.

References

External links

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Wind Energy Manufacturers
{{Wind power in the United States Wind turbine manufacturers Engineering companies of the United States Buildings and structures in Flagstaff, Arizona Wind power companies of the United States