Resources for Home and Farm (Small) Scale Wind
Welcome to the Small Wind Resources Page! From this page, you can search for and access resources related to small wind. You can enter any term you'd like in the search box, or simply browse the collection!
Title | Summary |
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| State-Specific Small Wind Consumer Guides | Many states have a Small Wind Electric Systems Consumer's Guide written specifically for residents of the state.
Find out if your state has a guide, and link to it from the Wind Powering America web site. |
| Wind Powering America's Small Wind Pages | The U.S. Dept. of Energy's Wind Powering America program offers lots of good small wind information on their Small Wind website.
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| Net Metering Information from the U.S. Dept. of Energy | This web page from the U.S. Dept. of Energy has more information about net metering.
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| AWEA's Net Metering FAQs | The American Wind Energy Association maintains a page of Frequently Asked Questions about net metering.
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| Insuring Your Wind System | Mick Sagrillo, a seasoned installer and wind energy advocate from Wisconsin put together a three-piece series on insuring small wind systems, which you can read by clicking on the links below.
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| Small Wind System Ordinance | This model ordinance for small wind systems comes from Renew Wisconsin. Click here to download the model ordinance. |
| Wind Energy: Model Ordinance Options | This publication from NYSERDA outlines considerations for ordinances related to wind energy. Click here to download the document from the NYSERDA web site. |
| Permitting Small Wind Turbines: A Handbook | This guidebook from AWEA discusses permitting for small wind energy systems. Click here to download the guidebook from the AWEA web site. |
| Mason City, IA Zoning for Wind Energy Conversion Systems | Mason City, IA has this ordinance related to zoning of wind projects. Click on the link below to view the ordinance. |
| Minnesota Model Wind Ordinance | Several counties in Southwestern Minnesota have developed a model zoning ordinance wind systems under 5MW for other counties in the state to adopt. A downloadable version of this document can be found here. |
| Wind Turbine Buyer's Guide (2007) | This 2007 article by Mick Sagrillo and Ian Woofenden in Home Power magazine compares various models of small wind turbines. |
| Planning a Small Wind Project | There are many steps in putting together a small wind project. What follows is a basic outline of the major steps in planning a small wind project. |
| Apples and Oranges | Apples and Oranges: Choosing a Home-Sized Wind Generator, by Mick Sagrillo is a good comparison of small turbine costs, construction, and performance from an industry expert. |
| Small Wind Toolbox | Renew Wisconsin's Small Wind Toolbox is an excellent database of small wind turbine technical articles and forms for installing turbines in Wisconsin. It also includes a practical handbook that walks you through the steps of installing a small wind turbine. |
| Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency | The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE) is a comprehensive database of incentives for wind and other forms of renewable energy. It is a great resource for up-to-date policy information. |
| Small Wind Electric Systems: A US Consumer's Guide | Small Wind Electric Systems: A US Consumer's Guide 2005: US Department of Energy. (Small Wind Handbooks are also available for many individual states.) |
| Harvest the Wind: A Wind Energy Handbook for Illinois | This handbook was prepared by Windustry for the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois and published January 1, 2004. The purpose of this handbook is to inform the reader about wind as a resource for generating electricity, with emphasis on Illinois as a potential host for small-scale and large-scale projects. |
| Northwest SEED | Northwest SEED is a regional non-profit in the Pacific Northwest that promotes community-based energy solutions. |
| National Wind Coordinating Collaborative | The National Wind Coordinating Collaborative (NWCC) is a consensus-based collaborative that establishes dialogue among key stakeholders and catalyzes activities to support the development of environmentally, economically, and politically sustainable commercial markets for wind power. |
| Kendall County, IL: Community Wind Project | Small Wind Turbines in IllinoisKendall County, Illinois
Gary Kizior installed a 10 kW Bergey turbine in December 2002, replacing his old Whisper 3 kW machine. It sits on the same 80-foot tip-up tower that Whisper machine used. This project was half funded by the Illinois Renewable Energy Resources Grant Program and was among the first small turbines in the state to receive a grant through this program. |
| Our Wind Cooperative: Community Wind Project | Our Wind Cooperative is a unique cooperative investing in small-scale wind turbines for farms, ranches and public and private facilities across the rural Northwest. By the end of 2004, at least ten 10-kW turbines will have been installed at sites serviced by publicly-owned utilities. |
| Macalester College, St. Paul, MN: Community Wind Project | Macalester College in St. Paul, MN installed a 10kW machine on its urban campus in 2003. |
| Proctor High School, Proctor, MN: Community Wind Project | Proctor High School's 20kW turbine went online in October 2006. Read more about the turbine in the school newspaper. |
| Clarion-Goldfield Community School District, Clarion, IA: Community Wind Project | This school district has a 50kW machine. Learn more about the school district on their website. |
| Clay Central/Everly Community School District | This school has a 95kW turbine. Learn more about the school district on their web site. |