Small wind turbines blow out big sales

Updated on May 29 at 7:25 a.m. PT with corrected figure of installed turbines last year.

Sales of turbines big enough to serve a single home or office building grew rapidly last year and are poised for even faster growth this year, according to a report from the American Wind Energy Association.

The report, published on Thursday (click for PDF), found that sales of small wind turbines smaller than 100 kilowatts grew 78 percent last year, even though there was a sharp drop-off at the end of last year and beginning of this year.

The actual number of small turbines installed, though, is very small at over 10,000 units last year, comprising 17.3 megawatts of added capacity.

Photos: Small wind turbines take shape

The stimulus act passed earlier this year gives people who buy a small wind turbine a 30 percent tax credit on the installation, which addresses the challenge of the upfront costs, which can be several thousand dollars to install.

Apart from policies, the other important factor to making a small wind turbine economical is siting. A study done that analyzed small wind installations in Massachusetts and one looking at roof-mounted turbines in the U.K. found that the machines underperformed manufacturers' claims.

The best location for small wind turbines, most of which are mounted on poles, is an area with an average wind speed of about 12 miles per hour, said Ron Stimmel, the small wind advocate at AWEA.

"It all depends on your wind resource to get a decent payback," he said. "You need a little bit of land so you're not talking cities, but mostly suburban and rural locations."

Many municipalities have height limitations on structures but turbines generally perform well when they are 30 feet above any structures in a 500-foot radius, he said.

"If you find the wind annoying or have trouble keeping things on your porch, then you probably have enough," Stimmel said.

Unlike large turbines, you don't need to put up a tower to get data on wind speed but customers should look at wind maps and rely on installers to assess the resource, he added.

The dominant small wind turbine design is essentially a smaller version of the three-blade horizontal axis large turbines used in wind farms. But there are now hundreds of different small turbines, some of which are designed for homes or structures such as streetlamps.

[Phil in MN]

Your ever so kind to the wind folk. The MA study found an average energy output of 27% for the 19 installations. NREL, National Renewable Energy Lab, has a test facility and provides testing to the AWEA Small Wind Standard test protocol. One system produced 168 kwh in over 4 mo of testing. It was pulled by the manufacturer from the test with statements about updates..... but you can still spend $X,000.00.

[terrylweb]

Phil is right about the poor performance of the smaller systems, especially the vertical axis ones. It isn't that they don't make electricity; it is that they don't make very much, very reliably. If you want to run a few lights and a radio in your remote cabin, it might make sense. If you want to run a typical household (or even an efficient one) you'll need a forest of them. Add to that the problems with some machines that fly apart sending pieces into the neighbor's yard, and well...
Conservation and efficiency first. Don't be suckered by promises based on hopes and dreams...

[tsport100]

You miss quoted from the report. It was 10,500 units sold not 1,000.

[maeckg]

It sounds so hardheaded to dismiss wind and solar power. While it is important to cut through the hype, some of the false promises by some installers are likely less than with other industries. Like was mentioned in the article, siting and scale is crucial for small wind installations. Still they are part of the solution; Traditional energy sources clearly have their own limitations and downsides.
Even if the electrcity generated is not large, the small wind turbines pay for themselves, produce clean energy without fuel, need little maintenance. The power production is local so reduces strin on power grid and allows growth in electricity use without the downsides of traditonal power. It creates business for local companies and jobs especially for the hard hit manufacturing workforce.It does it's part in, maybe not a lot at present time, but does help with decreasing dependence on foreign fuels.
Let those who can afford the investment get a good tax break: they are investing in their ownership of independent power production and overall infrastructure that can help us all. It is a backup and makes the whole system more robust. The small scale is actually an advantage because it allows a fine granularity of investment so power is generated in the amount needed where it is needed. It allows individuals to benefit themselves and gives freedom of choice. One might say: it give meaning to "power to the people".