Meet the Irish electrician turning rubbish into renewable energy devices

Former electrician Barra Mulligan has spent 20 years transforming everyday scrap into homemade wind and river turbines, writes Sarah Horgan

Barra Mulligan at his workshop near Omeath in Co Louth with his hydro turbine which powers the electricity in his workshop. Pictures: Ciara Wilkinson

It’s been 20 years since Louth native Barra Mulligan started creating his own DIY wind and water turbines using scrap parts and just about anything else he can salvage.

The former electrician spends much of his time travelling the length and breadth of Ireland, transforming rubbish into renewable energy devices for educational purposes. 

His river and wind turbines are homemade, using everything from old air-blower fans to washing machine and treadmill motors. 

Barra, who lives in Omeath, documents the process through his Facebook page, which has amassed support from all over the world. 

He says people have contacted him from disaster zones desperate to find alternative ways to power their homes.

“To date, the most amazing thing that's happened to me was being contacted by people located in disaster zones. One person had been impacted by a tornado and the other by a flood. 

Knowing that there is somebody in a disaster zone who can watch my videos and learn how to make their own electricity is the pinnacle for me.

Barra’s skills were obvious from a young age. “I used to take speakers out of old cars and hang them in my bedroom before wiring them up to the radio. It was trial and error. The sound quality from the speakers wasn’t great but I had music playing all around the room. 

"There was also a big 12-volt battery beside my bed and whenever you activated the plus on the battery, all these little car lights would light up and illuminate the room. I wasn’t even 10 at that stage. 

"I remember watching Back to the Future and loving the scientist character Doc, but my real inspiration was my father. He could turn his hand to anything and I feel very blessed with the hands that he gave me.” 

Barra with a chiller fan he is going to turn into a wind turbine.

Barra started dabbling in homemade renewable energy devices after emigrating more than two decades ago.

“The recession hit in Australia and I came home,” he says. 

“I started back in my trade as an electrician. I never knew what I really wanted to do until I started in renewable energies again. It felt like this was my calling and career path.” 

He says there are a lot of benefits for people investing in renewable energy devices.

“You could probably light your house for two nights for how much energy it takes to boil one kettle of water. In a way, there is really no sense to my business model at all. There is money to be saved for future generations but unfortunately investors aren’t looking for that. 

My hope is that I can eventually start making money from teaching people how to build what I’m building.

The father of one devotes much of his time to sourcing the necessary parts. “Whenever I want to make a new wind or river turbine, I start looking around for things that can turn and spin and that I can attach stuff to. 

Barra Mulligan with his daughter Jade and partner Maria. 

"I used to take in nearly everything that was offered to me, but I've come to a stage now where I can't unless it's useful to me. 

"This week I’m expecting some pool chlorinators from Australia and America. 

"I’m also going to Cork to take a battery out of an old forklift. I would love to travel all around the country picking up these different pieces and documenting the experience through videos. 

"It can be frustrating at times. I might spend two or three weeks working on one part only to discover that it doesn’t fit and there was no way it was ever going to work. These things can be very disheartening so I’ve had to change my way of thinking to view it as a lesson learned as opposed to a source of frustration.”

Finding certain parts can prove challenging. “What I’m looking for at the moment is cast-iron wheels. I normally find them through Facebook Marketplace because a lot of these items, which date back hundreds of years, are now being sold as garden furniture. 

Barra with his wind turbine made from a sewer pipe, a bicycle wheel, and a washing machine motor. 

"I usually use bicycle wheels for the wind turbines and cast-irons wheels for the water turbine. These were the same wheels used in the early days of steam trains. I have to get an axle but a lot of these are made from wood, which means I have to start the process of looking for a piece of pipe or other alternative to allow me to suspend the wheel and spin it between bearings to drive the shaft.” 

He says he enjoys watching his creations in motion. “It’s a plus that these look beautiful in gardens but people are now starting to realise just how useful they are. 

Five years ago, people were talking about using these to do the garden lights. However, it’s gone from lighting the garden to lighting your whole kitchen and sitting room. 

"Cast iron is beautiful when painted so it’s nice to have something functional in your garden that doesn’t look like a pile of scrap. 

"One of my favourite things to do is go down to the water in the morning during summertime when the sun is coming up and making the spokes glisten. 

"I might be trapped there for a half an hour just staring at them.”