Renewable Energy Utility Trailers

Renewable energy, water filtration and internet access as portable infrastructure.

Be it for personal, business or communal use, mobility is becoming an ever increasing component of day to day life. Mobility places numerous constraints on systems that deliver electricity, water filtration and internet. Most current systems use fossil fuels to deliver these services.

The Renewable Energy Utility Trailers we are developing offer these services powered by renewable wind and solar energy.

The current demo trailer offers space to sleep two, a small but full office workspace and was comfortably inhabited through a ND winter. The interior components are clearly laid out and labeled so as to be an instructional tool for teaching.

This spring we look forward to using the utility trailer for community events; be it movie nights, powering the Sacred Stone Village youth media bus or other cultural events. The utility trailer will expose the community to the quiet abilities of renewable energy.

There have been several attempts at providing renewable utilities in a portable box. Satellite internet has not been a utility typically included in these attempts. Cost has also been unusually high when compared to the primary component costs.

Our goal is to integrate these systems together in a cost effective manner that is easily portable and can be operated by someone with limited technical expertise.

The trailer is powered by 1,530w of photovoltaics, a 1,600w wind turbine and a 5,500w backup gas generator, stored in a 6,640Ah battery array. A modified Goal Zero Yeti 1250 serves as an uninterrupted power supply to run the onboard electronics. It holds 45 gallons of onboard potable water with the ability to filter 1.5 gallons per minute for other users. Internet is provided via a satellite internet provider broadcast over a long range wifi router.

Currently integrating Ledunia units into the primary controls for remote operation and monitoring.

- Assemble a variety of sizes for different power, water and internet loads.

- Automating the primary systems to the point that an average user can operate and monitor the system remotely.

Electrical energy storage and delivery is on it's way towards replacing fossil fuel based storage and delivery.

Combined with renewable energy sources, this system offers a level of financial independence not seen in modern times.

Our goal is to implement renewable energy wherever it many best be utilized on Standing Rock and abroad. Offering it on a mobile platform allows it to be as flexible as possible.

- Presented at the Oceti Sakowin Energy Summit it functioned as a teaching tool for those that walked through it.

- Energy independence is often touted as a goal, but when it's actually lived in, a new appreciation for it sets in.

The current demo trailer is owned by Sacred Stone Village and is currently being used as a mobile architecture office.

Come spring, it will be available for community events wherever a conventional generator would be used. It's sized so that it can power a building construction site as well.

To replicate the capabilities of the current demo trailer would cost about $18,000 in materials and take about 6 weeks to build. Smaller units could come in under $10,000 in materials.

Come spring it can provide infrastructure for an event of several hundred attending. Limitations are on the current satellite bandwidth.

Elementary and High school class demo's are planned.

As a showpiece for the capabilities of renewable power over fossil fuels it will expose thousands.

We would like to build three more units this year, each of varying size and capability.

1) Units destined for the Standing Rock community use will be delivered at cost.

2) Units with a high degree of custom design and fabrication will be billed as such.

We have been exploring a partnership with Rock Industries, a dormant former defense subcontractor metal fabrication facility, about possible roles in mass production of components.

The current fabricator, Jarod Galvin is an architect and sculptor. The understanding of many aspects of the utility trailers systems were self taught as he went along. The technical expertise available through Solve's network would be invaluable to cross check and refine his work.

- Material costs to assemble units.

- Fluid dynamics engineer to review ideal water filtration system components.

- Electrical engineer to review ideal as well as emerging battery technology.

If Solve is aware of potential clients, we'd be interested in pitching to them.