By DOM COSENTINO
The Intelligencer
An Upper Moreland company is seeking a $1 million state grant to develop a combination solar and wind turbine that it is touting as “the world’s first hybrid renewable energy technology.”
Precision Assembly Inc., on the 2300 block of Computer Avenue, is partnering with Bluenergy Solarwind Inc., to develop the turbines, which would harness both wind and solar energy and would be sold to owners of commercial or residential buildings to provide clean energy, according to Paul Stepanoff, the company’s chief executive officer.
“It’s a novel idea,” Stepanoff said, “in that it combines wind and solar.”
Bluenergy AG of Germany developed the concept and has licensed it to Bluenergy Solarwind, based in New Mexico. The company has already built four small-scale turbines. Precision Assembly would handle the manufacturing, starting with a pair of prototypes, for which it is seeking the $1 million grant through the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association. Stepanoff said he hopes to get approval for the grant by next spring, after which a six- to eight-month development period would take place.
According to Precision Assembly, the prototypes would be installed at private testing and certification sites and sold to seed investors before hitting the market. That way, the company could address any issues and gather any additional data.
The manufacturing would take place at Precision Assembly’s 80,000-square-foot facility and proceed beyond the prototype phase as the market demands, Stepanoff said. He estimated that the work would initially add eight to 10 employees to the 90 already working there.
“We can make several a month here,” Stepanoff said. “But if we have to make 20 or 30 or 50 a month then we would be looking to open a new facility.”
The turbines would be 18 feet to 20 feet tall and about 6 feet wide. The commercial version would cost about $8 per watt for a 5,000-watt system, which comes to $40,000. The cost for residential units, which are smaller, is expected to be about half that. The units combine solar cells and double-helix-shaped wind vanes, providing a more reliable source of energy by harnessing the wind more often in the winter and the sun in the summer.
Because the turbine does not use the traditional propeller system, it can capture wind at any speed and from any direction. Propellers, the company says, must be directed toward the wind.
Stepanoff said talks had begun on the project 11/2 years ago, before the recent spike in gas prices had placed such an emphasis on alternative and renewable energy sources.
“We have had a tremendous amount of interest by owners of commercial buildings that want to make their buildings more green,” Stepanoff said. “And they have an aesthetically pleasing look, which is a constant reminder to their tenants of the effort they’re undertaking to be more green.”
