Murphy Oil Corporation is a worldwide oil and gas exploration and production company with refining and marketing operations in the United States and the United Kingdom and crude oil and natural gas exploration and production operations in Canada. Murphy Oil also has an office in Kuala Lumpur to oversee its E&P activities in Malaysia. Murphy USA Marketing Co. (Murphy Oil USA, Inc.) operates retail gasoline stations under the Murphy USA® brand across 20 states in the U.S. These are high-volume, low-cost retail gasoline stations, primarily in the parking areas of Wal-Mart Supercenters. Murphy Oil USA, Inc. also operates a network of 12 Company-owned terminals. These terminals, along with numerous third-party terminals, provide fuel supply to retail and branded wholesale stations throughout 23 states.
Germany is the world's biggest user of wind power, and it has ambitious plans to build even more wind turbines.
Germany has huge wind energy expansion plans
It has decided that generating nuclear power is not the way forward, and it has decided eventually to close all the country's existing nuclear power stations.
The country's great hope for is for a future of green energy, and in particular wind power.
However, some observers are now questioning whether all the investment in wind power makes economic sense.
Growing demands
Alsleben is a small market town in eastern Germany on the banks of the Saale river.
It's a quiet place surrounded by rolling farmland, but for the past few weeks the people here have been getting used to some new neighbours.
On the hills above them are 37 giant wind turbines. Alsleben is now the site of one of the biggest wind farms in the country
It was with considerable reluctance that GP&GF Hill Pty Ltd have elected to sell the Westwind wind turbine sector of the company due to Geoff Hill's (owner & managing director) approaching retirement and absence of any family succession plan for the company.
J.A Graham Renewable Energy Services, based in Northern Ireland have purchased the complete manufacturing operation. J.A Graham, headed by Andrew Graham, have outstanding experience in the renewable energy sector and hope to be in full production in the coming months.
GP&GF Hill Pty Ltd will honour all existing warranty periods current prior to the sale of the company and support for these turbines.
The management and staff at GP & GF Hill would like to thank all the support, over the past 25 years, that has helped Westwind grow to be a world leader in the small wind turbine industry.
For further details please direct all correspondence to;
Westwind is an internationally renowned manufacturer of high quality and robust 3kW, 5kW, 10kW and 20kW wind turbines. Westwind have supplied turbines, towers and turbine controllers for use in many different applications around the world since 1984.
Over the years our continuing commitment to research and development, both in-house and with external research organisations has ensured that Westwind remain as leaders in turbine technology. Currently Westwind has a development and testing program with Murdoch University's Research Institute for Sustainable Energy (RISE). As a result Westwind turbines are now the worldwide preferred choice for robust, reliable, and efficient small to medium wind turbines.
Westwind 5kW
Our website is designed to be a one stop shop for all the information you need to know about our turbines and how to get one installed. Please take the time to look around our site but feel free to contact us if answers to your questions cannot be found.
Wind is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth's surface, and rotation of the earth. Wind flow patterns are modified by the earth's terrain, bodies of water, and vegetation. Humans use this wind flow, or motion energy, for many purposes: sailing, flying a kite, and even generating electricity.
The terms wind energy or wind power describe the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical power into electricity.
So how do wind turbines make electricity? Simply stated, a wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes electricity. Take a look inside a wind turbine to see the various parts. View the wind turbine animation to see how a wind turbine works.
This aerial view of a wind power plant shows how a group of wind turbines can make electricity for the utility grid. The electricity is sent through transmission and distribution lines to homes, businesses, schools, and so on.
Many wind farms have sprung up in the Midwest in recent years, generating power for utilities. Farmers benefit by receiving land lease payments from wind energy project developers.
Modern wind turbines fall into two basic groups: the horizontal-axis variety, as shown in the photo, and the vertical-axis design, like the eggbeater-style Darrieus model, named after its French inventor.
Horizontal-axis wind turbines typically either have two or three blades. These three-bladed wind turbines are operated "upwind," with the blades facing into the wind.
GE Wind Energy's 3.6 megawatt wind turbine is one of the largest prototypes ever erected. Larger wind turbines are more efficient and cost effective.
Utility-scale turbines range in size from 100 kilowatts to as large as several megawatts. Larger turbines are grouped together into wind farms, which provide bulk power to the electrical grid.
Single small turbines, below 100 kilowatts, are used for homes, telecommunications dishes, or water pumping. Small turbines are sometimes used in connection with diesel generators, batteries, and photovoltaic systems. These systems are called hybrid wind systems and are typically used in remote, off-grid locations, where a connection to the utility grid is not available.
Measures the wind speed and transmits wind speed data to the controller.
Blades:
Most turbines have either two or three blades. Wind blowing over the blades causes the blades to "lift" and rotate.
Brake:
A disc brake, which can be applied mechanically, electrically, or hydraulically to stop the rotor in emergencies.
Controller:
The controller starts up the machine at wind speeds of about 8 to 16 miles per hour (mph) and shuts off the machine at about 55 mph. Turbines do not operate at wind speeds above about 55 mph because they might be damaged by the high winds.
Gear box:
Gears connect the low-speed shaft to the high-speed shaft and increase the rotational speeds from about 30 to 60 rotations per minute (rpm) to about 1000 to 1800 rpm, the rotational speed required by most generators to produce electricity. The gear box is a costly (and heavy) part of the wind turbine and engineers are exploring "direct-drive" generators that operate at lower rotational speeds and don't need gear boxes.
Generator:
Usually an off-the-shelf induction generator that produces 60-cycle AC electricity.
High-speed shaft:
Drives the generator.
Low-speed shaft:
The rotor turns the low-speed shaft at about 30 to 60 rotations per minute.
Nacelle:
The nacelle sits atop the tower and contains the gear box, low- and high-speed shafts, generator, controller, and brake. Some nacelles are large enough for a helicopter to land on.
Pitch:
Blades are turned, or pitched, out of the wind to control the rotor speed and keep the rotor from turning in winds that are too high or too low to produce electricity.
Rotor:
The blades and the hub together are called the rotor.
Tower:
Towers are made from tubular steel (shown here), concrete, or steel lattice. Because wind speed increases with height, taller towers enable turbines to capture more energy and generate more electricity.
Wind direction:
This is an "upwind" turbine, so-called because it operates facing into the wind. Other turbines are designed to run "downwind," facing away from the wind.
Wind vane:
Measures wind direction and communicates with the yaw drive to orient the turbine properly with respect to the wind.
Yaw drive:
Upwind turbines face into the wind; the yaw drive is used to keep the rotor facing into the wind as the wind direction changes. Downwind turbines don't require a yaw drive, the wind blows the rotor downwind.
Murphy Oil Corporation is a worldwide oil and gas exploration and production company with refining and marketing operations in the United States and the United Kingdom and crude oil and natural gas exploration and production operations in Canada. Murphy Oil also has an office in Kuala Lumpur to oversee its E&P activities in Malaysia. Murphy USA Marketing Co. (Murphy Oil USA, Inc.) operates retail gasoline stations under the Murphy USA® brand across 20 states in the U.S. These are high-volume, low-cost retail gasoline stations, primarily in the parking areas of Wal-Mart Supercenters. Murphy Oil USA, Inc. also operates a network of 12 Company-owned terminals. These terminals, along with numerous third-party terminals, provide fuel supply to retail and branded wholesale stations throughout 23 states. 
