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Wind Power Projects

What I know about wind power systems would fit in a thimble, but here are some links that I believe to be very good ones. If you are starting from the same level I'm at, try the Paul Gipe book -- its very good.

You will find good material here on how to evaluate your site for wind power (very important), how wind systems work, how to size a wind system for your needs, and lots of information on diy and homemade wind turbines and commercial systems.

Directory for this page:

Wind Power Basics
Logging Wind Velocity
DIY Windmills
Wind Applications
History
Sampling of wind turbine suppliers

Questions?
Report Broken Links ...

Watch Out For Wind Turbine Power Ratings:
The power ratings usually given by the manufacturers for wind turbines are nearly useless, in that they are determined at wind speeds much higher that you will normally see. A good rough formula to keep in mind in evaluating different wind turbines is:

Annual Output (KWH/year) = 0.01328 (D^2) (V^3)

Where D^2 is the blade diameter in feet squared, and V^3 is the wind velocity cubed in mph -- this is the year round average wind speed -- see wind maps below. Wind turbine energy production

So, a 10 ft diameter wind turbine in 12 mph average winds might produce about (0.01328)(10^2)(12^3) = 2300 KWH/year

Note that the energy produced is proportional to the cube of wind speed -- having enough average wind speed is everything in wind turbines. Use the wind maps discussed below and a wind survey of your site to determine if a wind turbine will actually payoff.

The graph is of the wind energy equation shown above for various wind speeds and turbine blade diameters. ---------------------------------------------->

ARE wind turbine in Oregon photo by J. Hall

Wind Power Basics
Wind-Electric Systems simplified, Ian Woofenden www.homepower.com/files/beginner/WindPowerBasics.pdf How to get articles from Home Power ...	A good Home Power magazine introduction to the various types wind powered electric generating systems and the components that make them up.
Wind Turbine Buyer's Guide, Mick Sagrillo, Ian Woofenden How to get articles from Home Power ...	Home Power magazine article, issue 119, June/July 2007. A very good article from two recognized wind power experts that provides some good and realistic advice for people thinking about a wind turbine . Covers all the basics, and provides a rundown on wind turbine models available in the US/Canada. See some of the references below for more detailed advice on certain aspects of designing and installing a wind turbine, but this article is a great place to start.
Small Wind Electric System -- U.S. Consumer's Guide, Wind & Hydropower Technologies Program, EERE www.eere.energy.gov ,,, A US consumer wind guide, as well as guides for many state. Other wind publications as well	A good guide for residential size wind turbines. Covers restrictions on locations, wind required for good performance, sizing turbine to meet your needs, cost and economic return. The state guides include wind maps for the state in question.
Wind Power -- Renewable Energy for Home, Farm, and Business	Wind Power, 2004 edition, Paul Gipe Probably the best all around book on wind power. Make sure you get the latest edition.
Got Wind? -- How to use the Wind Resource Atlas of the United States Another US set of wind maps: www.eere.energy.gov and, another: www.eere.energy.gov... (has some more detailed maps for NW) Similar for Canada: http://www.windatlas.ca/en/index.php	The Wind Resource Atlas of the United States will give you a rough idea if you are in a locations with wind potential -- here is how to use it.
NREL Wind Turbine Payback Spreadsheet www.eere.energy.gov ... (Thanks to Derek for relocating the lost link to this useful tool)	This spread sheet from NREL allows you estimate the economic return from a wind turbine on your site. You enter information on your wind turbine, your site, and financing -- it provides a graph of cash flows over time. You will need a good estimate of the average wind on your site, and the cost to install to get useful numbers from this spreadsheet.
Site Analysis for Wind Generators Mick Sagrillo How to get articles from Home Power ....	HomePower Magazine article, issues 40 and 41 The most important factor in determining if you can successfully use wind power is how much wind you have. This is not an easy thing to determine -- this article tells you how.
Scoraig Wind -- Hugh Piggott's Homepage http://www.scoraigwind.com/	Hugh Piggott's excellent web site on building wind generators. Plans and design information on building a wind generators from scratch. Plans, books, workshops, .... The "Windpower Workshop" book gets very good reviews from people who want to build their own (as do his actual workshops).
Anatomy of A Wind Turbine, Ian Woofenden, Hugh Piggott, How to get articles from Home Power ...	Home Power Magazine article, issue 116 A good basics article explaining the internals of a wind turbine. Good to understand whether you want to build one or buy one.
The American Wind Energy Association http://www.awea.org/	A general reference site for wind power. Some good stuff for DIY'ers under Small Wind Systems -> FAQs and Success Stories.
Apples and Oranges 2002 -- Choosing a Home-Sized Wind Generator Mike Sagrillo How to get articles from Home Power ...	Home Power magazine article, issue 90 Some good advice on choosing a home size wind generator from the guru. Lots of comparison specifications for numerous commercial wind generator offerings.
Tower Economics 101, 102 and 103 Mick Sagrillo How to get articles from Home Power ....	HomePower Magazine article, issues 37 -- 39 Very good article on the economic benefits of using a tall tower, and how to decide how tall.
Harvest the Wind Michael Hackleman and Claire Anderson Mother Earth News http://www.motherearthnews.com	Mother Earth News Article, Issue 192 Good introduction to determining if a wind system will work for you, and the important elements of a wind system.
Ontario Landowner's Guide to Wind Energy" (free download) Paul Gipe and Jame Murphy http://www.ontario-sea.org/	A guide for land owners considering installing one or more large wind turbines on their land.
Logging Wind Velocity These gadgets log wind speeds over an extended period to see if you have enough wind to make a wind generator pay off.
Jarvis (and other) Wind Data Logger Backwoods Solar (and select "Windmills"): www.BackwoodsSolar.com APRS World, LLC: http://www.aprsworld.com/products/	Jarvis wind data logger will record wind over an extended period for import to a PC spread sheet. You can then calculate what a particular windmill model will deliver. About $180.
Windmeter/Anemometer by Infidigm http://www.infidigm.net/projects/windmeter/	DIY windmeter to measure and record wind speeds. The experts recommend measuring wind speed at your site for a year before investing in a wind turbine. Here is one way to do it. Another option is to install of the small wind turbines (like a Air X) and use it to see how much power a larger wind turbine would generate.
DIY Windmill Plans and Information
Scoraig Wind -- Hugh Piggott's Homepage http://www.scoraigwind.com/	Hugh Piggott's excellent web site on building wind generators. Plans and design information on building a wind generators from scratch. Plans, books, workshops, .... The "Windpower Workshop" book gets very good reviews from people who want to build their own (as do his actual workshops).
OtherPower.com http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_wind.html www.otherpower.com/otherpower_experiments.html http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_wind_tips.html http://www.otherpower.com/17page1.html	Quite a source of nitty-gritty detailed information on building wind generators. Many projects described.
DIY Windmills from The Back Shed www.thebackshed.com/windmill/default.asp Detailed plans for a DIY windmill with a minimum of special parts and tools	This is a terrific site for build it yourself windmill information, and getting better all the time. It includes very detailed picture plans for a moderate size windmill based on the Fisher Paykel motor. The plans use standard steel sections, and a require a minimum in the way of special tools.
How I home-built an electricity producing Wind turbine www.mdpub.com/Wind_Turbine/index.html	Mike shows the details on how he built his 4 ft wind turbine using a surplus DC motor for the generator. Full details are provided on the construction, as well as a number of useful design information links. Total cost was $140.
Wind Stuff Now http://www.windstuffnow.com/main/	Good personal site on DIY wind generator design and build. Several projects described, program for wind generator sizing. An interesting site with new "stuff" added frequently. Kits for small DIY windturbines. The Lenz2 turbine in picture at right is an ongoing project that was featured in Popular Science. --->
Building a Wind Generator From Scratch, Chuck Morrison www.greeleynet.com Blade Templates: www.greeleynet.com/~cmorrison/airfoil3.pdf	A very nice set of picture plans and text guidance for building a 7 ft diameter wind generator.
Chispito Wind Generator Plans http://www.velacreations.com/chispito.html	A set of plans for a small 4 ft diameter easy to build wind turbine. The blades are cut from 8 inch PVC pipe, and the generator is a treadmill motor. For more information on building and using this small generator, try searching on "Chispito" on the http://www.fieldlines.com forum. The treadmill motor may be available on ebay -- here is one possible source. Don't expect this to power your house -- maybe something like 20 watts in a 12 mph average wind might be a reasonable expectation. If you have built and used one of these, please let me know how its working.
Details on building a wind generator http://windpower.jkcc.com/construction.htm (this link appears to have gone south 6/7/07 -- let me know if you know where it lives now)	Detailed description of homebuilt wind generator.
Maine-Built Windmills From Scratch Everett Russell How to get articles from Home Power ...	Home Power Magazine article, issue 79 Good article on building wind generator system from scratch from someone who has been doing it since 1937.
Dragon Fly Wind Generator Plans/Kit http://dragonflypower.com/DragonBlerb.htm	Inexpensive plans for a 9ft diameter wind generator. Kits for some of the part also offered.
Colorado Wind Power www.coloradowindpower.com	A good "how to" on making what appear to be strong, lightweight composite wind turbine blades. Other material on this site of interest to DIYers, including making wood blades, stators, ...
Wind Odyssey Dick Anderson How to get articles from Home Power ...	Home Power Magazine article, issue 82 Very nice article on rebuilding an Enertech 1800 wind generator. Lots of detail on what's involved in a project like this.
Prototype 11 KW Wind Turbine Plans for 11 KW Wind Turbine (pdf)	What appears to be a very professionally designed, large, home built wind turbine.
Blade Carving 101 www.fieldlines.com/story/2007/3/8/13649/79230 www.fieldlines.com/story/2006/11/21/204217/60	Quite a detailed how-to on laying out and carving wood wind turbine blades. And, details on the 14 ft diameter wind turbine that the author build
Old Jacobs -- Current Again Peter Kuebeck How to get articles from Home Power ...	Home Power Magazine article, issue 89 Good article on restoring used Jacobs wind generators.
Total Homebrew -- starting small to learn the basics Michael Lew How to get articles from Home Power ....	Home Power Magazine, issue #82 Good article on an all DIY very small scale wind generator system.
Old Jacobs -- Current Again Peter Kuebeck How to get articles from Home Power ...	Home Power Magazine article, issue 89 Good article on restoring used Jacobs wind generators.
Prairie Turbines Breezy 5.5 http://www.prairieturbines.com/	Prairie Turbines sells plans for a 5.5 KW wind turbine. The turbine is said to produce about 3 KW at 12 mph wind speed. And, that it can be built for about $4000.
The Wood 103 -- A wooden 100 Watt Wind Generator How to get articles from Home Power ...	Home Power Magazine article, issue 88 Being a woodworker, I really liked this article. It looks like a good way for one with woodworking skills to experiment with wind power generation.
Wind Generator from Fisher Paykel Washing Machine www.yourgreendream.com/diy_instructions.php	Detailed instructions on turning the motor from a Fisher Pakel washing machine into a wind turbine alternator from the Your Green Dream website. Because of its unique construction, this motor makes a good alternator.
Wind Power Applications
Betting the Farm -- Wind electricity Pays Off Fischer How to get articles from Home Power ...	Home Power magazine article, issue 96 Description of grid intertied medium size wind generation system. Details economics, planning and installation.
Wind Power History
Visit to Veldkamps Meul'n in Bellingwolde http://greenbits.com/ ...	Fascinating pictures of an 1885 wind mill and all the internal mill machinery. 20 meter diameter, 4 blade traditional Dutch design. Still in operation.
A Sampling of Wind Generator Suppliers (listed alphabetically -- I have no direct experience with any of these suppliers -- so, beware!)
ARE Wind Turbines www.abundantre.com/ARE_Wind_Turbines.htm	Supplier of 12ft and 24 ft diameter wind turbines.
Bergey Wind Turbines http://www.bergey.com/	A well known supplier of small wind turbines.
Eoltec Wind Turbines http://www.eoltec.com/ www.pineridgeproducts.com	Makers of an 18 ft rotor diameter wind turbine.
Jacobs Wind Turbines http://www.windturbine.net/products.htm	A revival of the famous Jacobs wind turbines that were so popular and durable in the 20's.
Kestrel Wind Turbines www.dcpower-systems.com	Supplier of wind turbines with rotors ranging from 5 ft to 12ft diameter.
Mariah Power Windspire 1 KWH Vertical Axis Wind Turbine http://mariahpower.com... An Article from The Energy Blog...	A soon to be available vertical axis wind turbine. It is 30 ft high by 2 ft wide with guy wires. It is anchored in a concrete foundation. Said to produce 1900 KWH per year with an average 12 mph wind. Said to be very quiet. Price $4000.
Proven Energy Wind Turbines http://www.provenenergy.com/	Manufacturers of a line of wind turbines ranging from 8 to 30 ft rotor diameter.
quietrevolution Wind Turbines http://www.quietrevolution.co.uk/index.htm	A new vertical axis design that is targeted for urban locations.
Southwest Windpower http://www.windenergy.com/index_wind.htm	A well know supplier of small wind turbines ranging up to 15 ft rotor diameter.
Skystream 3.7 Wind Turbine from Southwest Windpower http://www.windenergy.com/index_wind.htm	This is kind of the opposite of Do-It-Yourself, but I thought it was interesting. The Skystream is a 12 ft diameter turbine that is designed for grid connected residential use. It comes as a package that includes all the electronics and grid tie inverter. Kind of a plug-and-play wind turbine. It claims to be designed to fit into residential areas -- low noise, street lamp type tower, ... About $7000 plus installation. It is said to produce 400 KWH per month in winds averaging 12.3 mph.