CASL / EDC / RUTAN 'PPP' (Portable Pedal Power)
After designing the most sophisticated spacecraft, Burt Rutan's newest project is all about bicycles producing energy!

Type: portable, bicycle-powered electric generator

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Program:  

Significant date: 2005

The Portable Pedal Power project is a collaboration between the Center for Advancement of Sustainable Living (CASL) and the Ecological Design Center (EDC) to create a portable, bicycle-powered electric generator. When completed, the project will serve as an educational tool and demonstration of alternative energy sources.

The pedal power project began with a proposal by CASL and the EDC entitled "Portable Pedal Power — A proposal for AAA and Burt Rutan" for the Koehn Colloquim in April of 2005. "We propose to design and create a portable bicycle trailor that generates electricity for events and demonstrations. The trailor will be fully equipped with bicycle stands that fold out to handle 3-4 bicycles. Each stand would be connected to a small magnet motor generator that would transform the bicycle pedal rotations in to electrical energy. The energy then charges a small battery bank. From the batteries, users will have the option of powering directly with DC current appliances or plugging in to a connected AC inverter. This will generate aprroximately 300-500 watts of electricity for a sustained amount of time figuring 3-4 bicyclers at a moderate pace. Additional power can come from trailor-in-motion generation, and an integrated silicon solar cell."

As the PPP concept was selected as the winning entry, CASL and the EDC held a design workshop in the Koehn Colloquium on April 26, which focused on designing Portable Pedal Power. The workshop involved University students, faculty, and staff from many disciplines, and gave the pedal power team a unique opportunity to participate with Burt Rutan in developing the design for the pedal power generator.

CASL continues to oversee the production of the project, a bicycle trailer with integrated pedal power generators. They have created one such prototype generator so far and design and production of the remaining unit is ongoing.


Population: 1

Specifications:

Main sources:
- University of Oregon
- Portable Pedal Power initial proposal (.pdf)