Dr. Ken Trantham
chair, UNK Department of Physics and Physical Science, (o) 308.865.8278 (c) 308.293.3986 or tranthamkw@unk.edu
NOTE: The best time to see/photograph the installation will be between 10 a.m. and noon on Monday, Feb. 8, at the Nebraska Safety Center Driving Range. Representatives from NIKKO will be available to answer questions at that time. For further information, please contact Dr. Ken Trantham. His contact information is below:
BACKGROUND: NIKKO company (Tokyo based) has donated a 1kW turbine to the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The turbine is being installed at the Nebraska Safety Center Driving Range just south of the UNK West Campus. Preliminary construction (concrete footings, etc.) has been completed.
“This is a state-of-the-art piece of equipment,” Dr. Trantham said. Once installed, the turbine will record wind speed and energy output. The data will be collected and shared with NIKKO. According to Dr. Trantham, the turbine will also be useful for students studying engineering principles.
Dr. Trantham added: “The nice thing about this is that NIKKO is also donating batteries and solar cells to charge the unit’s batteries. The energy generated will provide a self-sustaining street light at the range. In addition, NIKKO will install an inverter box to convert the energy and put it on the power grid.”
