Sonsight Wind funds prototype testing of their new three-kilowatt small wind turbine at Appalachian’s Beech Mountain Small Wind Research and Demonstration Site

Posted Nov. 29, 2017 at 1:28 p.m.

BOONE, N.C.—Brent Summerville, practitioner-in-residence in Appalachian State University’s Department of Sustainable Technology and Built Environment, received $18,290 in funding from Sonsight Wind to prototype test their new three-kilowatt small wind turbine.

Sonsight Wind, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was awarded a Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) grant from the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) to fund the prototype testing.

Appalachian State University will perform the prototype testing at its Beech Mountain Small Wind Research and Demonstration Site in Banner Elk; the testing began Monday, Nov. 6, 2017.

The winter winds blowing through the test site will help test the performance, function and durability of the prototype wind turbine. Students in the sustainable technology program helped install the turbine, instrumented a tower to measure the wind and weather, and programmed a data logger to log and analyze wind speed, wind direction, rotor speed, turbine power and other data.

Access more information at http://www.sonsightwind.com and http://wind.appstate.edu.

About the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment

One of seven departments housed in the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment at Appalachian State University features an integrated array of programs spanning the fields of sustainable design and technology. Its mission is to foster a strong and vibrant culture of inquiry, discovery and innovation that integrates theory with application, problem seeking with problem-solving, local issues with global perspectives and technological progress with environmental stewardship. It offers bachelor’s degrees in sustainable technology and building science, and a master’s degree in technology. Learn more at https://stbe.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the state of North Carolina, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls more than 19,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.