Windspire / Mariah Power

System
System Posts: 2,511 admin
in Solar Skeptics, Hype, & Scams Corner #1
I live in the Foothills of Colorado. We have a lot of wind. We are rated to 135 mph. Because of that the county requires wind turbines to be rated to a minimum of 135mph. Windspire has an "Extreme" model rated to 165 mph. I purchased 2 of them and the county has approved their installation.
This was in October of last year. Windspire did not deliver my 2 turbines for more than 6 months. The testing by NREL caused them to have to redisign the inverters which just fell apart - they are built in to the Windspire - not external like PV and are part of the moving parts problem that they have. Now they being made by Mastech Energy in MI. I paid for them nearly a year ago. I have the frames now (finally), but no inverters so they are lying on the ground waiting after nearly a year to be installed. I have no idea when the inverters are going to be delivered - if ever. They just give me the run around. I think that they are in serious trouble (and so am I). They talk the talk, they take the money, but they do not walk the walk. There is a lot of advertizing hype on their website - I am not sure if I believe any of it anymore.
They say that they delivered to Adobe and Genoa County. Perhaps they are just the frames like mine but have no internal generators or inverters.
http://windspireenergy.com/news-center/blog/
They have recently "refinanced" and changed their name (when companies change their names, it is a red flag.
They sold me an "Ice and Snow" package - special paint surface so that Ice cannot stick to the surface - it is peeling off as it lies there, and has not even had a chance to work yet.
I think that I have been burned.

I will keep you informed if I hear more from them.

Read more: http://energy.typepad.com/the-energy-blog/2010/02/vertical-axis-wind-turbines-a-case-study-windspire.html#ixzz0wVBcrAwX
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Comments

  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: Windspire / Mariah Power

    sorry to hear of your misfortune and thanks for the heads-up.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #3
    Re: Windspire / Mariah Power

    Allan,

    Thank you for the update on your system... And truly sorry to hear about your problems.

    Also, I understand that there are multiple threads here about Windspire/Mariah Power--but there really is no need to post the same message multiple times.

    Sincerely,
    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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