The big guys learn financing from the little ones

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Excerpt: The U.S. community wind sector, as a report from the Berkeley National Laboratory defines, consists of relatively small utility-scale wind power projects that sell power on the wholesale market and are developed and owned primarily by local investors. The recently published report explains this indu …

AWEA 2010 industry recap

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Excerpt: Despite significant challenges in 2010, the U.S. wind industry continued to make good on its promise to strengthen America, and laid the foundation for a strong return in 2011. As the year closed, industry leaders appealed to Washington to adopt a long-term energy plan so the benefits of wind energy …

Turbine manufacturer enters the retail business, offering utility program

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Excerpt: A small wind turbine manufacturer has a service that should allow customers to switch to wind power without upfront capital costs. Xzeres Wind Corp.'s Micro-Generation Utility program is designed along similar lines to solar leasing programs, with the Oregon-based company offering to set up its …

Small Wind Financing and Payback Periods

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Excerpt: Finding Incentives Small wind energy systems cost from $3,000 to $5,000 for every kilowatt of generating capacity, or about $40,000 for a 10-kw installed system. This is much cheaper than solar power systems, but the payback period can still be quite long. That's why it's important to take adv …

Canadian feed-in-tariff program stimulates growth

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Excerpt: Just months after starting, a more lucrative version of Ontario’s feed-in-tariff program has attracted thousands of renewable energy investors, additional evidence that this particular policy lever, pioneered in Germany, can stimulate rapid growth in decentralized green power resources. As …

The Role of Aesthetics in Small Wind Policy

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Excerpt: To function properly, small wind and community wind turbines must be tall and unobstructed, which means that they will likely be visible at some distance. It is also a fact that some people object to their appearance. However, legislating opinion becomes a difficult task - and an inappropriate one f …

Determining Setback Distances and Height for Small Wind Turbines

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Excerpt: To balance against the need for tall towers, good practice requires that a small wind turbine in a residential district be "set back" from a property line some given distance. (For commercial or other zones, this distance is often considerably less, even zero, since in these areas affected parties s …

How Loud is a Wind Turbine Really?

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Excerpt: Modern small wind turbines have better insulation, lower rotation speeds, fewer moving parts, no gearboxes, and more efficient blades that make them much quieter than their ancestors. Today's small wind turbines emit sound that is barely discernible from ambient noise, even with a decibel (dB) meter …

Why YOU Should Install a Small or Community Wind System?

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Excerpt: Your family's electric bill has climbed to $400 per month and you expect it go higher. You are worried how global warming will affect your kids. And you don't want to wait around for others to fix these problems. Generating your own, clean power sounds like a great idea, and something you may …

What Factor’s Lead to Wind Power Electricity Cost?

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Excerpt: The cost of electricity from utility-scale wind systems has dropped by more than 80% over the last 20 years. In the early 1980's, when the first utility-scale wind turbines were installed, wind power electricity cost as much as 30 cents per kilowatt-hour. Now, state-of-the-art wind power plants  …