Welcome to
the Montana WAC
The WAC Montana Wind
Applications Center is in-place to offer Wind Energy
educational opportunities to students at Montana State University, to support
wind-related outreach efforts throughout Montana, and to
assist the companion Montana
Wind for Schools program. The WAC was created in 2008
with startup funding provided by the U.S. Department of
Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory. |
MSU joined Kansas State University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Boise
State University, South Dakota State University, and Colorado State
University as the first six Wind Application Centers in the
nation. In January 2010 an additional five states joined
the WAC fold:
These new Wind Applications Center partners are located
at Appalachian State
University (North Carolina), James Madison University
(Virginia), Northern Arizona University, Pennsylvania
State University, and at the University of Alaska.
Current
WAC News:
-Wind Turbine Trainer
Thee M&IE students supported wind energy
education through their senior design
project during the Fall 2010 / Spring 2011
academic year: Cameron
Kennedy (ME), Kyle Hoyt (MET), and Alex Adams
(ME) were tasked with creating a
low-cost, high resolution desktop-scale Wind Turbine Trainer
for use in alternative energy education and
outreach by the sponsor, the Montana Wind Application Center,
The project provided many challenge to these
three students as they researched turbine
performance, designed their system, and
fabricated a complex working prototype. The
completed trainer is now available for use
in various classroom and demonstration
venues, and new laboratory experiments have
been implemented by the 2011WAC
interns to ensure this device serves
its intended function in Montana State University's
alternative energy curriculum.
-Wind Applications Center
Facility
In June 2009 the
Montana WAC crew moved into
a new facility on MSU's campus.
We are now located in Faculty Court
#22, on the south east corner of
the campus right next to MSU's
Sky Stream Turbine
- two blocks
from the
MSU-Bozeman
Engineering
campus.
-Wind for Schools (WFS)
Wind for
Schools is a
parallel
program with a
primary objective to engage rural American in wind-related projects.
By
facilitating
installation
of small
wind
turbines at
rural K-12
schools, the
WFS program provides a
knowledge base for alternative
energy. While
the actual
amount
of
electrical
energy
delivered to
the
primarily
rural school
facilities
is
relatively
small, the
educational
benefits are
great.
The
Montana WAC
supports
various aspects of this
project,
including
providing
student
intern
manpower for
site
selection
and
installations,
providing
technical support to
the WFS host
schools, and
developing/coordinating
a web-based
monitoring
system so
that host
school
wind
turbines
performance
data is
available to
the public
via
web-link. Through
this program
the public
can obtain better
understanding
of
capabilities,
limitations,
applicability,
and other
details
associated
with
wind-generated
electrical
power.
Please visit
our
Wind For
Schools
Program page for more info.
-Kidwind Challenge
Kidwind Challenge is a new and growing national competition designed by Kidwind.org founder Michael Arquin. The purpose of the competition is to teach students grades 6 - 12 about wind energy through scale-model turbine blade design-build competition. Seven states participated in the 2011 national competition, and the Montana Wind Application Center is currently working on bringing this competition to Montana. WAC interns have completed fabrication of portable wind tunnel to support a statewide Kidwind challenge competition. Read here for more information on the construction and characteristics of the KidWind Tunnel.
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