Subject: Village Power

From: Tom Gray <[email-masked]>
Date: 15 Jun 94 14:16 PDT

NEW WORLD POWER GOES OFF-GRID

Lime Rock, Conn., June 15 -- The New World Power Corporation announced 
today that its manufacturing facility in Waitsfield, Vt., has 
disconnected from the local electric utility and has begun producing 
power with a 50-kW village power system.

Since early March, virtually all power required by the Waitsfield 
facility has been produced by a wind/photovoltaic/diesel village power 
system.  Rated to 50 kW, the village power system is also available in 
100-kW increments.  The village power system is designed to extract the 
energy available from local renewable energy power sources (wind, solar, 
hydro) and supplement it with an on-demand diesel generator when the 
renewable energy power sources cannot supply enough power to meet the 
demand.  This power system architecture keeps fuel consumption and diesel 
operation to a minimum.

The New World village power systems employ low-cost, high-reliability 
rotary inverters.  The rotary inverter technology is easily maintained 
and repaired in the field, compared with the more complex, more 
expensive, and less reliable static inverters which are currently 
available only in limited quantities and size ranges.

The renewable and fossil-fueled power sources are controlled by New 
World's proprietary control systems which ensure that power is always 
available.  New World's Waitsfield facility provides an excellent model 
of a remote community, as the facility's electric loads range from 
computers and electronic test equipment to industrial manufacturing 
equipment, fans, and compressors.

Funding for the development of the village power systems is provided by 
several partners, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the 
Alaska Science and Technology Foundation, and Sandia National Laboratories.

Plans for commercialization of the village power systems include "the 
retrofit of remote communities that operate continuously running diesel 
generator plants as well as those communities completely without power," 
according to Lawrence Mott, Director of Community Power Systems of New 
World.  Initial areas being targeted for deployment of the technology 
include Alaska, northern Canada, Mexico and Central and South America.  
New World anticipates shipping several village power systems later this year.

The New World Power Corporation produces and sells electric power 
generated from renewable resources, including wind, sun and water, and 
also develops, manufactures and sells renewable power generating systems, 
as well as related products and services.

For further information, contact New World Power Corporation, The 
Farmhouse, 558 Lime Rock Road, Lime Rock, CT 06039, phone (203) 435-4000.