Ron Stimmel of the American Wind Energy Association explains what every homeowner should know before installing a small wind turbine on their property.
 | Ron Stimmel, Small Wind Advocate, American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)“If you live on at least an acre of open land and you can tell a good story about how windy it is, you’re usually a good candidate for a small wind turbine.” (Photo: AWEA) |
Why would someone install a small wind turbine?
Generating your own clean electricity is a pretty powerful motivator for a lot of people. Every time a turbine spins around, those are clean, green electrons being pumped right into your own house, your own farm, and that's a very empowering feeling. You become your own power plant, essentially. Not only that, it's a really great financial hedge against rising and unpredictable costs of electricity.
What is the definition of "small wind"?
Small wind describes on-site power - wind energy produced and used right there. It is defined as 100 kilowatts (kW) and below, all the way down to 50 Watts. But for homeowners, it usually means a wind turbine that generates between 2 and 10 kilowatts.
What is the first step someone should take if they are interested in installing a turbine?
You call a manufacturer or installer, and they come out, look around, and assess the physical features of the land; if your vegetation is pushed in one direction - it's called flagging - or if you live on a hilltop rather than in a valley. They compare that with other wind data from airports, satellites, or some private companies that map wind resources. Usually, formal wind resource assessments are not necessary for small wind turbines, because the expense and time isn't justified.
If you live on at least an acre of open land and you can tell a good story about how windy it is you're usually a good candidate for a wind turbine. If you can fly a kite or have trouble keeping a patio umbrella on your back deck, you probably have a good resource.
 | Audio Gallery: Is A Wind Turbine Right For You?Ron Stimmel talks about what to consider before deciding on a turbine. Click on the image to play video |
Some U.S. states offer assistance to people buying small wind turbines. What kind of assistance?
Basically, states will give the potential consumer a rebate or tax credit proportional to the size of the turbine. A residential turbine might have a capacity of 5 kW, and they would say that you can get, say, 3,000 dollars per kilowatt up to maybe 30 percent of the total cost of your system. That's a pretty good assistance program, but right now one of those 5-kW turbines costs 30,000 dollars, so you need it.
Can turbine owners in the United States sell power back to the grid, like they can in Germany?
The net metering concept only exists in certain states. It's like a patchwork. Furthermore, it's not just dependent on the states, it's dependent on the utility. A state will pass a law introducing net metering, but it's up to the utility to interpret how that's enacted.
Do wind turbines have negative environmental impacts, like toxic materials that are used in solar panels?
Small wind turbines are about 90-percent steel. They have a very minimal impact in terms of land use: they don't require water; they produce no hazardous waste or greenhouse gas emissions; they don't require mining; and the fuel is free, unlimited, and completely renewable.
So, if you're looking for environmental impacts, you're looking pretty hard if you're only coming up with the negative ones. It really depends on your wind resource, but I think it's pretty safe to say that it comes as a net benefit, not only for the person who owns it, but also for the community as a whole.
Do they kill a lot of birds?
A study by the National Academy of Sciences last year found that large wind turbines in big wind farms account for less than 0.003 percent of all human-caused bird and bat deaths. And for a small turbine, you can infer that they account for even less. In comparison, a house cat kills 10,000 times more birds than a turbine.
Do small wind turbines make a lot of noise?
In the middle of last century, they tended to be a bit noisier, but they've been recently designed with advanced blades, and are increasingly quiet. So now a small wind turbine on the market today is no louder than a refrigerator. The sound of the wind will mask the sound of the turbine. It's a white noise that blends in with a variety of frequencies. We support adding some sort of sound restriction in zoning codes that treat turbines the same way you would treat an external air conditioner. Usually, turbines are quieter than an external air conditioner.
What about potential objections from neighbors?
Before you buy a turbine, it's a really good idea to alert your neighbors, usually in writing, about your intentions, and to dispel any myths right up front. A lot of places, zoning boards, and neighbors have never heard of small wind, are not sure what to expect, and unfortunately oppose turbines by default.
In order to function well, a turbine has to be tall - in order to reach the wind. That means they're inevitably going to be seen by somebody. It's also going to be inevitable that somebody's not going to want to look at it. So educating your neighbors can really save a lot of trouble when it comes time for a zoning hearing - if there is one - because one flustered or uninformed neighbor can squash an installation, just like that.
editor: Valdis Wish
publishing date: September 9, 2008
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