Pivotal Board Appointments

Dr Neil Cherry has been appointed chairman of Windflow Engineering Ltd, (WEL) a Christchurch company which has created an innovative new wind turbine technology.

Dr Cherry is a senior lecturer in meteorology at Lincoln University and a Canterbury regional councillor. During his 25 years' involvement with wind energy, Dr Cherry has led New Zealand wind energy resource assessment programmes and carried out a worldwide wind energy survey for the United States' Department of Energy.

Founding director, Geoff Henderson, developed the Windflow 500 wind turbine technology, which is a 500 kW wind generator. He has been involved with wind energy in New Zealand and internationally for 20 years.

Windflow Engineering is in the process of raising capital to manufacture the first Windflow turbine in Christchurch and then market the turbines in New Zealand and Australia. The first turbine is expected to be operational by early 2002.

Christchurch City Council has approved a 10-year hedging contract for the first Windflow unit that will produce 3.3% of the city council's electricity. Orion NZ Ltd has also offered Windflow Engineering Ltd a 10-year network connection contract which includes the buy-back of power by Orion in peak demand periods. The combined effect of the City Council and Orion contracts will be to provide price certainty for the company.

Other Windflow Engineering directors are:
- barrister and solicitor Heugh Kelly, who is a director of the Environmental Defence Society and a former member of the legal committee of the Maruia Society; and
- Barrie Leay, who until 1997 was executive director of New Zealand's Electricity Supply Association and is now involved in a number of projects to promote energy efficiency and sustainable energy solutions.

http://www.windflow.co.nz

For more information contact:
Christine Moore, Word Engineering, phone +64 3 365 6822; 025 6444 884, email christine@wordengineering.net

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