Wind Power Handbook » Too Darn Tall!

SWIFT and Small Wind

Timlynn Babitsky — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:42:17 +0000

by Timlynn Babitsky
The small wind turbine market is expected to grow by 18-20% through the next two years. When new tax incentives ($1,000 – $4,000 per system) go into effect in January ‘09, that growth will only accelerate. Between tax incentives, rising energy costs and increased environmental consciousness, residential and commercial scale wind turbine demand is already exploding. But until now, small wind systems have disappointed many.

Then along came SWIFT.

“The SWIFT Wind Turbine design solves many of the challenges of previous residential and commercial scale wind turbines: it registers as a whisper on decibel charts, it’s efficient, it’s safe and it’s clean,” states Cascade Engineering’s Michael Ford, on their new SWIFT Wind Turbine system.

Available in the US and Canada, the SWIFT Wind Turbine system provides businesses and homeowners an effective solution to lower energy bills and reduce carbon emissions. The unique design of the SWIFT system lies in the outer ring that connects to the turbine blades. As the wind travels down the blades and is dispersed along the outer ring, the outer ring acts as a diffuser eliminating noise and keeping the turbine quiet.

It is the first very quiet rooftop mounted wind turbine for domestic, community and industrial use. And it generates electricity by harnessing wind energy both quietly and safely. The SWIFT Wind Turbine incorporates safety features that meet IEEE safety standards and has achieved the Underwriter Laboratories (UL) certification by MET Laboratories, Inc., a global symbol of safety.

Optimally sited this turbine will produce approximately 2000 kWh of electricity per year in a good wind location. This is about 20% of an average home’s needs. The initial cost of $10,000 to $12,000 per system can generally pay for itself in about 3 years and multiple units can be used at one location to supplement industrial and commercial needs. The SWIFT system has a 5 year manufacturer’s warranty and is designed for a 20 year life.

Click here for more information.

The SWIFT Wind Turbine has been designed to be environmentally sustainable. The product produces more energy in its lifetime than is incorporated in the material and processes used to manufacture it – it is therefore “harm neutral.”

Red Hot wind…

Timlynn Babitsky — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:37:46 +0000

by Timlynn Babitsky
Huge wind turbines are easy to find now across the U S. But smaller residential wind generators, a bit less easy to find, are also appearing across the US landscape. Small Wind is now considered a “tiny but red-hot market.” And about 45 US manufacturers are producing systems to service the small wind market here and abroad. In rural, suburban and even urban areas “small wind” is catching on.

“At least 26 states have tax or productivity incentives or other subsidies to support wind energy,” notes Trudy Forsyth, program leader at NREL’s distributed wind program in Golden, Colorado. “But strong growth is happening even without the federal tax incentives enjoyed by solar panels and big utility-scale wind turbines.”

So why haven’t I seen any of these small wind systems? You ask. I travel around a lot and I have yet seen a single small wind system!

Cost, lack of support, NIMBY, and bird issues, have kept residential wind-power to a slow growth level. Zoning has always been an issue, and resistors to residential wind power are increasing pressure for even tighter zoning battles.

If a Small Wind project is what you are after, you need to rally support early from your friends, neighbors, and local stakeholders. Make sure you do your homework. Understand your zoning laws and get legal help early. Do all you can to engage your utility company in a net metering relationship (make sure that net metering is an option before you even start !). And check out the newest in residential turbine designs.

Southwest Windpower, the largest US small-wind manufacturer, has a new small 1.8 kilowatt Skystream turbine that is aimed at the residential market. It is so quiet and unobtrusive that even San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is now forming a group to explore using small wind systems throughout the city.

Click here for more on the hot-market of Small Wind.

Outside the box…

Timlynn Babitsky — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:43:47 +0000

by Timlynn Babitsky
Complaints around a wind project often focus on the “ugliness” of a tall tower with blades on top, and how it will spoil someone’s view. From the massive four-bladed windmills we see in The Netherlands, to the many bladed water-pumping windmills we still see across rural America, we have come to think of a wind turbine as being the stereotypical Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT). If turbine design is a resistance issue for your project, there ARE other turbine designs out there to consider.

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) are one design alternative to the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) – the tower mounted turbines with which we’re more familiar.

If you are not familiar with the VAWT design You Tube has a couple of good videos to check out. Click on the links below for short video clips of VAWTs in action. These are only a sample to get you thinking out of the box horizontally:

Advantages of the VAWT design include:

Can be sited:
- on mesas, hilltops, ridgelines and passes which often have higher and more powerful winds near the ground.
- on rooftops in urban environments.
- where laws do not permit tall structures.
Can be much less expensive than HAWT design.
Does not need to be pointed into the wind, can turn regardless of wind direction.
Stronger in high winds.
Easier to maintain because most of their moving parts are located near the ground.
Can potentially be much larger than HAWT’s.
Newer carbon composite blades are lightweight and easier to install.

Disadvantages of the VAWT design include:

Generally not as efficient as HAWTs (but new VAWT designs are addressing this issue).
Most need to be installed on a relatively flat piece of land.
Some sites could be too steep for a VAWT.
Most have low starting torque; may require energy to start the blades turning.
Changing out parts on some designs requires dismantling the whole structure.

With the global warming focus on alternative energy, Google’s investment in green energy, and the frenzy of creative innovation buzzing in this industry, the VAWT videos above on YouTube are being joined weekly by newer and perhaps more viable designs. Click on these links to see more:

Before you commit your project to HAWT tower turbine design, do your homework. See if alternative designs might make your project much more acceptable to resistors.

Keeping a Low Profile

Timlynn Babitsky — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:29:30 +0000

by Timlynn Babitsky
If some of your project resistors claim a tall wind turbine is unattractive, or would spoil their view of Nature, the hills, the beach or the sea. Or if your particular small wind project offends neighbors who claim they don’t want to see “that thing” or have it strobe-shade their tomatoes – you might want check into the VAWT advantage.

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) are one design alternative to the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) – the tower mounted turbines with which we’re more familiar. I’ve been really interested in this design since my days on the Hi-Line in Northcentral Montana. It offers some unique advantages over the typical tower turbine and it’s a design that can be used to generate wind energy in places where there is less wind or where a tall turbine would not be suitable.

Good friend David Brockes, has been exploring VAWTs for a number of years. He most recently pointed me to the Windterra VAWTs being produced in Canada.

According to their website, “Windterra is delivering a new paradigm for green energy – small wind turbines! No one has an “affordable” small wind generator for the residential and commercial markets. There are wind generation products, but they are usually Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines directed more towards farm/rural market, requiring a tower installation for greater speeds and laminar wind-flow.”

The Windterra roof-mounted VAWT has a number of distinct advantages over costlier HAWT systems. Windterra’s products are:

Easily roof mountable
More accessible for routine maintenance
Less affected by turbulent air than HAWTs
Better suited for residential areas where other houses and trees may disturb the airflow
Rotate at a much lower speed than the very high speeds of existing HAWTs – thus much lower noise levels and vibration.
Omni-directional – they can instantaneously accept wind from any direction

And:

The control system ensures that the turbine is always producing the most energy possible for a given wind speed without overloading the turbine.
Their products incorporate grid-tie, solar inputs, as well as optional battery charging capabilities.

If you are thinking about doing a small project – or WOW! – think bigger – a whole residential area, community or town with each house outfitted with a Windterra roof top HAWT - now that’s a nifty picture – keep en eye on Windterra – their HAWT designs look VERY promising!