Alaskan Wind Industries - Kingspan Wind History
Kingspan is proud of what Proven Energy has achieved since 1980 and has now purchased and are the new owners for these great systems. Founder, Gordon Proven, set out with a vision of creating a greener future for Scotland's electricity and worked tirelessly to develop robust, reliable wind turbines.
Having monitored the growing wind industry for many years, Gordon identified the need for a robust wind turbine capable of peak performance in high winds - even in hurricanes and typhoons.
Gordon's aim was to develop a unique blade design to combat the high wind shut down that other turbines experience. This blade design would allow the blades to pitch and cone to adjust aerodynamic efficiencies in high winds. These wind turbines are able to generate power in all wind conditions completely eliminating turbine 'shut down'.
Below are some of the key milestones on the Proven Energy/Kingspan Wind journey:
| 1980 | - Gordon Proven left nuclear industry to form Proven Energy - providing bespoke engineering solutions | 1982 | - Provided high precision engineering products for blue chip companies | 1985 | - Designed first Proven Energy wind turbine | 1989 | - Installed prototype of down-wind model | 1991 | - Proven Energy designed bespoke generator for small wind solutions and eliminates the need for a gearbox | 1993 | - Corrur Railway Station in Scotland installed first commercial Proven Energy wind turbines | 1995 | - 100th wind turbine shipped to Africa to provide rural electrification for a community - First of 91 Proven Energy wind turbines installed on the Falkland Islands | 1997 | - First Proven Energy wind turbine installed to charge electric vehicle | 1998 | - Proven Energy's 100th installation in Africa 2006 - LCA first investment | 2000 | - Proven Energy installed a wind turbine at a maternity hospital in Mongolia - Installation features on BBC reality show Castaway for the 12 month duration of the project | 2002 | - Installation at Triglav, Slovenia's highest mountain | 2003 | - First unit installed in Japan | 2005 | - Moved to bespoke manufacturing facility in Ayrshire | 2006 | - LCA first investment | 2008 | - 2000th install, LCBP funded, England - Supplied 14% of world installed kWh | 2009 | - Australian installation means that Proven Energy wind turbines generate power on every continent - First turbine certified under MCS/IEC | 2010 | - Celebrated 30th year, 3,000th installation and 30 million+ hours of accumulated run time | 2011 | - Proven Energy was sold to Kingspan Wind to keep their units producing with the same manufacturers in Scottland |

