1 An Overview of Small Wind Energy Today Shawn Shaw The Cadmus Group, Inc. Sierra Club Northeast Committee Fall Energy Conference 10/12-10/14/2007.

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An Overview of Small Wind Energy Today

Shawn ShawThe Cadmus Group, Inc.www.cadmusgroup.com

Sierra Club Northeast Committee Fall Energy Conference10/12-10/14/2007

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The Cadmus Group

• Environmental Consulting firm specializing in energy, drinking water, and risk management

• Based in Watertown, MA• 150+ employees worldwide

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Clean Energy Practice

• Field inspections of renewable energy systems– >50 small wind inspections to date– >100 PV inspections to date

• Program support and production tracking for state renewables programs

• Renewable energy program evaluation• Energy efficiency in appliances and

buildings

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“Small” Wind?

• Mostly 10 kW or Less• Mostly 80-120 ft Tall

100 ft Tower

7 ft Blade Length

200-300 ft Tower

100 ft Blade Length

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Why Small Wind?

• Reduce energy costs• Help the environment• Make a statement• Backup power

– Need batteries

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A Typical Wind Energy System

Wind Turbine

Home Circuit breaker box

& Utility net meter

Controller, inverter

The “grid”

DC AC

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Factors Affecting Energy Output

• Available Wind Resource• Site Conditions/Terrain• Tower Height

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Assessing the Wind Resource for Small Systems

• Wind maps• Local clues

– Tree flagging– Nearby weather stations

• Airports• Schools

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Spotting a Potential Site

• “Flagging” vegetation

• Constant breeze• Bodies of water• Open terrain• Slope

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The Wind Resource in Southern New England

Good wind resource in coastal areas and mountainous regions

•Cape Cod

•Berkshires

•Martha’s Vineyard

Look for wind speeds > 5 m/s at 30m for good small wind potential

10% difference in wind speed ~ 33% more energy!

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The Importance of Wind SpeedSmall Wind Cost Effectiveness in a Typical Inland Site with

Moderate Obstructions

$0.00

$0.20

$0.40

$0.60

80 ft 100 ft 120 ft

10 kW

$/kW

h

Low (4.5m/s)

Med (5.25 m/s)

High (6 m/s)

PV Cost Effectiveness (10 kWDC): $0.38/kWh

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Obstacles Create Turbulence and Reduce Apparent Wind Speed

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Site Conditions Affect Energy Production

Impacts of Terrain on a Typical 10 kW Wind Energy System

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000

Coastal/No Obstructions

Coastal/Some Forest

Inland/Moderate Forest

Inland/Heavy Forest

Open Farmland

Inland Suburban

Annual Energy Produced (kWh/year)

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Good Site Characteristics

• Open access to prevailing wind• >100 ft from neighbors• Downward sloping terrain• Bodies of water• Close to electrical interconnection

point

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The Importance of Tower Height for Non-Ideal Sites

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

80 100 120

Turbine Hub Height (ft)

An

nu

al

En

erg

y O

utp

ut

(kW

h)

MTC MinimumRequirement

Assumes: 6 m/s wind speed at 70m, rough terrain, 50 ft surrounding trees, 10 kW Bergey Excel-S turbine used for example calculations

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Basic Small Wind Economics

• 10 kW System, good site, 100 ft tower, utility interactive (no batteries)– 15,000 kWh/yr– $3,000/yr revenue– Installed Cost: $60,000– MTC rebate: $22,500 (example)– Simple Payback: 12.6 yrs– System Lifetime: 20+ yrs

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The Small Renewables Initiative

• Provides incentive for residential scale renewable energy projects (up to 10kW)

• Covers solar PV, wind, and small hydro projects

• Approximately $3.6M available annually

http://www.masstech.org/RenewableEnergy/small_renewables.htm#

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SRI Rebate Matrix

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SRI Small Wind Requirements

• Follow all applicable codes/standards• Hub height must be 30+ ft above all

surrounding obstacles• Estimated capacity factor 10%+• All new equipment• Wet stamped engineering plans• Inspected/approved by Code officials

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Other Incentives/Programs in the Northeast

• Incentives/Rebates in:– New York– Massachusetts– Vermont– Delaware– Maryland– New Jersey

• Tax Exemptions/Credits in:– Massachusetts– Maryland– Rhode Island– Vermont

• Proposed federal tax credit in House and Senate– HR 1772 and 2776– S. 673– $3,000 per kW tax credit for small wind systems

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Small Wind Applications

• Schools• Farms• Homes• Businesses• Public buildings• Remote areas

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Environmental Benefits of Small Wind

16,000 lbs CO2/Yr2 Acres of Forest

Planted1 SUV Taken Off the Road

10 Tons of Coal/Yr Not Burned

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Small Wind: An Ally Against

• Habitat loss• Groundwater pollution• Climate change• Power plant emissions

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Impacts of Small Wind Turbines

• Wildlife• Land area• Noise• View shed

Little impact from small wind systems

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Small Wind Walks on the Wild Side

Even a 100 fold increase in the use of wind power would produce less bird deaths than our current use of communication towers and similar structures.

Small wind turbines are no more likely to harm birds than any other ~100 ft structure.

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But Doesn’t Wind Take A Lot of Space?

• Typical footprint of a residential wind installation: <100 s.f.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Coal Natural Gas Nuclear Wind

Acr

es/B

illi

on

kW

h

Source: Pace University, Environmental Costs of Electricity, 1991

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Wind Turbine Noise

• Noise levels (dB) from wind turbines drop off rapidly with distance

• Typically, 100 ft from tower base, turbine cannot be heard over ambient noise

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Scenic Impacts

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Regulating Small Wind Turbines in Massachusetts Communities

MA Towns Having Draft or Complete Bylaws for Small Wind Turbines•Brewster•Carver•Fairhaven•Freetown•Harwich•Marion•Sandwich•Others under development (e.g. Westport, Dartmouth, Russell)

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Regulating Small Wind Turbines: Points to Consider

• Setback from property lines/structures

• Maximum height• Visibility/noise• Engineering requirements• Zoning restrictions

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For More Information on Small Wind

• Paul Gipe’s books www.chelseagreen.com • AWEA, small wind turbine section

– www.awea.org/smallwind/toolbox/default.asp • Home Power magazine www.homepower.com • Mick Sagrillo’s Videos and articles

– (writes for Home Power magazine, etc.)• Equipment Mfrs, e.g. Bergey, Southwest, Abundant (ARE)• Qualified models:

– www.consumerenergycenter.org/cgi-bin/eligible_smallwind.cgi – www.powernaturally.org/Programs/Wind/qualified_wind.asp?i=8

• http://www.windustry.com/resources/small-scale.htm • Interstate Renewable Energy Council & their Small Wind Web

Site irecusa.org/smallwindenergy/index.html • Canada has a useful site:

www.smallwindenergy.ca/en/SmallWind.html • Current Bills in Congress of Interest to Wind Energy

http://capwiz.com/windenergy/issues/bills/

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Small Wind as Part of a Climate Change Solution for the NE

• We can’t put up wind farms everywhere

• Solar PV is not always a good option

• Buying RECs provides no financial payback

• Significant environmental benefits

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What We Can Do to Bring More Small Wind to the Northeast

• Promote sensible bylaws and good installation practices

• Support tax credits to improve project economics

• Educate communities about the real benefits and impacts of small wind power

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Thank You

Shawn ShawThe Cadmus Group, Inc.

sshaw@cadmusgroup.com