TAKE WIND HOME

Wind energy started as what the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) refers to as “small wind.” There was a time when the wind “mill” was ubiquitous on the rural landscape. Now, thanks to the most modern of electrical technology, wind energy is returning to its roots.

In many places where wind has a bigger presence than sun, homes and businesses are sprouting “small” wind turbines, thanks to a simple connector. Referred to as a “plug and play” system, an electrical connection between the small turbine and the circuit box allows seamless shifting between grid and wind.

Joe Schwartz, editor, Home Power magazine: “These new systems use the utility for back up power, removing the need for big, expensive battery backup systems.”

The connection is very like the ones common in rooftop solar system installations and, like the imperatives driving more and more people to those solar systems, high energy costs and new public policies also support a turn by individuals to small wind.

State and federal incentive programs absorb part of the cost for the hardware. Net metering laws allow owners to send unused energy to the grid and roll back their utility bills in return.

One thing about the increasing popularity of small wind (and rooftop solar) has nothing to do with new technology or cutting utility bills. It is about the eternal human desire to do the right thing. Rising awareness of global climate change fills everybody who understands with the impulse to do something, to make a difference. Installing a private, non-emitting energy system is doing something important.

Schwartz: “This isn’t about people putting turbines in to lower their electric bills as much as it is about people voting with their dollars to help the environment in some small way…”

Small wind works best where the wind resource is strongest. Aesthetic objections and zoning difficulties remain.

Schwartz: “Turbines work in rural areas with strong wind…But in urban and suburban areas, neighbors are never happy to see a 60- to 120-foot tower going up across the street.”

What to say to unyeilding neighbors? Give them a presidential endorsement: See BUSH 41 BUYS WIND and read about the turbine installed at the former president’s home wind.

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Technology Smooths the Way for Home Wind-Power Turbines
John Casey, April 15, 2008 (NY Times)

WHO
American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) small wind division; Joe Schwartz, editor, Home Power magazine; Paul Tonko, president, New York State Renewable Energy Development Authority; Jim Green, senior project leader, Wind Technology Center/National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Aerovironment's Architectural Wind is a form of small wind for big box businesses. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
Rising installation of “small” wind turbines in homes and businesses is driven by (1) plug and play systems, (2) incentives programs, (3) net metering opportunities and (4) environmental concerns and the desire to help mitigate global climate change.

WHEN
- Plug and play systems have been widely available only in the last 3 years.
- It can take 20 years to pay off the cost of a private wind system but the benefits begin immediately.

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WHERE
- There is no federal incentive program for small wind like the one instituted during the oil crises of the 1970s, although there are federal incentives for rooftop solar installations.
- Many states have small wind incentive programs.
- New York state’s program allows $4000 per electric meter for a turbine, which translates to about 30% to 40% of the total cost.

WHY
- Plug and play systems allow a wind system to be plugged directly into a home electrical panel, allowing the homeowner to use energy from the turbine or the grid.
- Federal and state incentives for solar are the key to system affordability, suggesting the necessity for new federal and more widespread state incentives for small wind.
- Net metering is different from state to state and often does not allow private energy system owners to actually profit from the energy they generate.
- Net metering almost always allows for the rolling back of a system owner’s utility bill, turning the high cost of electricity into a justification for installing a system.
- Environmental concerns and the need to do something about global climate change have raised awareness of the individual carbon footprint, which a private wind (or solar) energy system reduces.
- American Wind Energy Association statistics show small wind to be a big business.

The Texas A & M entry in Solar Decathlon 2007 included a unique form of small wind. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Joe Schwartz, editor, Home Power magazine: “Back in the early days, off-grid electrical generation was pursued mostly by hippies and rednecks, usually in isolated, rural areas…Now, it’s a lot more mainstream.”
- Paul Tonko, president, New York State Renewable Energy Development Authority: “Certainly, the technology has improved, and the cost per project is coming down…Turbines for farms and residential applications are seeing much more activity.”
- Jim Green, senior project leader, Wind Technology Center/National Renewable Energy Laboratory: “Many of the barriers to residential turbines have been lowered, but net-metering removes what may be the biggest barrier…Along with state incentives, net metering entirely changes the economics of residential wind generation…”