Here is a photo of Michael Lawley of the quaint New Zealand town of Taranaki. Actually I haven't been to Taranaki but most of New Zealand is quaint, in the nicest possible way of course, so I presume Taranaki is as well. Michael, who moved there from England 12 years ago, is holding a couple of wind turbines that he has constructed from discarded washing machines of the Fisher and Paykel variety. (that's "fusher and piekel" to you)

Traditionally, people have used car alternators for this type of turbines but they have to rotate at a very high speed. The smart-drive generates a useful amount of power at a very slow speed which lends itself to both wind and hydro applications.

Michael reliably informs us and far be it for The Green Man to argue with him.

Purchasing the old washing machines at $10 a pop and selling his turbines for around $1,000 it is the sort of business that we all wish we had. And he gets to occupy the high moral ground, environmentally speaking, at the same time. Some people have all the luck.

Michael is known for his engineering skills and not his website design skills. A quick trip to hiswebsite will show you why. Better still visit him in person by staying at his eco friendly backpacker hostel next time you are down Taranaki way, you'll find the details on the site.

Image and story via Otago Daily Times who make it impossible to link to the actual story.