Even though the residential wind power sector has seen tremendous growth over the last decade, an article in The Arizona Republic estimates that there are still only 4,000 residential wind turbines nationwide. The primary reason that wind energy has been slow to take hold is that wind turbines are fairly visible, and therefore highly controversial, installations. According to the American Wind Energy Association, small wind systems (100 kilowatts or less) need to be at least 30 feet above barriers which might break the force of the air currents reaching the turbine. Right now, the industry recommends wind turbines only for sites that are at least one 1 acre in size. Consequently, wind turbines in urban areas are still quite rare. (In a September 2007 post, earth2tech featured a San Francisco home which sports a turbine, and pointed out that this may be the first urban wind turbine in the country.)

Unfortunately, individual efforts to experiment with wind power, even in outlying areas, have encountered a lot of roadblocks. Proposed turbine installations are usually evaluated by local governments on a case by case basis, since most city zoning laws have height restrictions which would implicitly prohibit turbines. Oftentimes, even if permission is granted and a turbine is erected, neighbors unite to fight the decision. (For individual turbine projects that have made news for seeking exceptions to local codes, see these articles on Wayne, New Jersey and Atlanta, Georgia).

Some locales are at last beginning to address this issue in a more systematic way. In a Green Building Elements article last week, Philip Proefrock cited Chicago as an example of a city that has amended its building code to allow rooftop wind turbines. Similarly, San Francisco’s mayor recently formed a “Residential Wind Power Work Group,” which will research the feasibility of urban wind power installations and make recommendations on changes to local building and zoning codes. The Denver Post reported in January that the Denver City Council had enacted an ordinance that would significantly ease restrictions on commercial wind generators but would also give homeowners a break on property line setbacks from the current 20 feet to 10 feet.

Even some small communities seem to be taking a proactive stance by agreeing to examine local codes. Blaine County Commissioners in central Idaho recently agreed to look into changing their zoning laws. According to an article in the Idaho Mountain Express last month, this valley area is not particularly suited for utility-scale wind farms, but many homeowners have indicated an interest in supplementing their own power systems.  In a February article in the Casper Star-Tribune, Natrona County, Wyoming, has also declared its support for residential wind power, although changes to the zoning rules have not yet taken effect.

See these sites for more information on small scale wind power generators:

• American Wind Energy Association FAQ pages
• Small Wind Basics on Southwest Windpower: Renewable Energy Made Simple
• E2T How To: Install a Wind Turbine on earth2tech
• Wind Turbine Buyer’s Guide on Green Building Elements
• Book Review: Off-the-Grid Homes: Case Studies for Sustainable Living on Green Building Elements

Read more about zoning changes which will help bring wind power to urban environments:

• Permitting Small Wind Turbines: A Handbook on the American Wind Energy Association

Image Credit: Southwest Windpower

Writing in Greenversations, the EPA’s blog, Jeffery Robichaud writes about his travels through the Midwest in a Winnebago to audit regional air-quality monitors in areas around Kansas City and St. Louis. The typically breezy nature of the region inspired one of the EPA audit team members to supplement the Winnebago’s gas-powered generator with wind energy.

And so the mobile air-monitoring laboratory recently acquired a rooftop wind turbine, becoming, as Robichaud puts it, “The Wind in the Winnebago.” When conditions are right, Robichaud writes, the turbine can charge up the Winnebago’s on-board batteries enough to power the entire mobile lab for eight hours “without a single wisp of generator exhaust.”

The addition helps the EPA team not only save on gasoline consumption but cut its own carbon footprint while on the road. Now there’s an example of an environmental agency living up to its mandate: good for you, Jeffery and team!

With that money they purchased three large refurbished wind turbines which now power their elementary school and the superintendent’s office. They have since received another grant and energy smart incentives. The Lakers School District now owns a biodiesel processor in addition to their wind turbines. This spring their high school students will have a “Pressing Party”. They will gather sunflower seeds from the plants growing beneath their wind turbines, combine them with soybeans then press these seeds and beans to obtain oil to make alternative fuel.

Why is this political? This is our future. The students in this community are learning first hand about creating alternate energy sources. Reportedly the students in the Lakers School district are interested in pursuing green in their community and careers. Teaching our children to be good stewards of our land and resources is the future of our country’s economy and security. Beyond politics and Washington, American citizens pursuing energy independence is what will catapult this movement and make a difference.

Photo Credit: Beufort Scale 5 on flickr

I reported in the Guardian last month that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) were objecting to wind farms in the UK because they felt the turbines interfered with military radar. The turbines were, in their words “in the line of sight.”

(Of course, were we not a bellicose little island nation, always eager to attack and interfere with foreign disputes, we wouldn’t need to concern ourselves with defense quite so much.)

I demanded answers. Demanded, if their objections were true, that there be immediate improvements in radar technology so that the UK could proceed with meeting renewable energy targets.

75 miles was the round figure given. Were a turbine any closer than that, then interference would be unacceptable, the UK’s defense at risk.

Yet, last week there was a U-turn by the MoD. A complete turnaround that must have caused wind farm planners along the east coast of England millions of pounds: financial waste caused by military indecision.

MoD have deigned it “manageable” (their words) to give the go-ahead to a wind farm just 32 miles from one of their radar bases.

If 32 miles is now manageable, yet 75 miles was previously the minimum distance they would allow, then someone, somewhere, is hiding behind their desk, handlebar mustache all of a quiver, and not being honest.

Andrew Boswell, a Norwich-based green councilor sums it up nicely:

“Just a few weeks ago, the MoD claimed that they could not even guarantee that replacing the RAF Trimingham radar with the latest technology in 2009 would solve the problem, now they have withdrawn all objections. This fiasco has cost time and money, and slowed down our national response to climate change.”

“We deserve an explanation from the government for the sudden change of mind, the industry needs a guarantee that this won’t happen again. We are calling on the ministers responsible for Energy and Defence to launch an enquiry and to ensure that these problems won’t happen again. We would also like to see a clear statement of the status of all the wind applications that the MoD have previously blocked in the region.”

I spoke to Rupert Read last night, also a green councilor from Norwich and asked him why he felt there had even been a re-appraisal by the MoD?

“I think the MoD were beginning to realize how ridiculous they looked and hopefully, they are now coming to their senses.”

I’ve stated already that this indecision will surely have caused Ecotricity, the company responsible for the wind farm in question, millions.

But what of the cost to public confidence? A public seemingly still wavering in their belief in the power of the wind. These recent events won’t have helped.

Currently, and this figure should cause my government shame on an international scale, we source just 2% of our electricity from renewables. The government recently agreed to source 15% of their electricity from renewables by 2020.

Not only do we have to defend ourselves from dark forces by peering endlessly at radar screens, but we are forever fighting against strong winds and tidal currents. Are these renewable energies exploited? No.

So, is the 2020 target realistic? Not if the public’s lack of confidence and military ambiguity can help it.

Sources:

Ecotricity

Norwich Green Party

Picture courtesy of Flickr (A fine moustache, sir.)

This wind turbine in Denmark went out of control when it’s safety mechanism failed to operate. And the blades went round, and round, and round…until…..

They say everything is bigger in Texas and that certainly applies to the giant windmills that have replaced oil derricks in the rural area of Sweetwater, in Nolan County. According to the New York Times, the towers stand 20 stories high and the turbine blades are as long as a football field, and farmers can earn $500 per month for each turbine they allow built on their land. Texas is now the largest producer of wind power in the United States, with $700 million in investment injected into wind projects in January alone, enough to power 100,000 homes.

But even bigger news to those who would like to see some attention paid to America’s rural economic health, is the impact that these wind farms are having on the rural economy. Property values have doubled, teens are staying in the area after graduation to work in the growing number of wind power jobs, and the downtown area is in a state of renewal.

“Since the wind boom began a few years ago, the total value of property here in Nolan County has doubled, and the county judge, Tim Fambrough, estimated it would increase an additional 25 percent this year. County property taxes are going down, home values are going up and the county has extra funds to remodel the courthouse and improve road maintenance…Wind companies are remodeling abandoned buildings, and new stores, hotels and restaurants have opened around this old railroad town.” –Clifford Kraus, New York Times

But this rural revival is in danger of an early death unless Congress extends the federal renewable energy tax credits that have helped fuel wind energy growth. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) estimates that over 116,000 U.S. jobs and nearly $19 billion in U.S. investment could be lost in just one year if the tax credits are not renewed by Congress. These jobs are in the areas hardest hit in today’s economy: construction and manufacturing. Concerned citizens should contact their elected representatives to encourage them to act to extend the federal renewable energy tax credits.

Safety concerns are going to start being an issue with alternative energy installations. With any new technology come unanticipated concerns, as that system leaves the ideal world of the drawing board (or the computer simulation) and enters the real world.  We are already well acquainted with the concerns about wind turbines and birds (for the most part, the issue of bird strikes is not that great compared to other man-made hazards for birds, and is more than offset by the benefits to birds (and all other living creatures) from using a renewable power generation. But there will also be life-safety issues around any electricity generating system, particularly as they become more distributed and widespread.

What kinds of safety issues will be faced as part of other alternative energy systems?

One concern is unexpected voltage in power lines. As a safety measure, in many places, grid tied systems are already required to shut down when the power on the grid goes out. This serves to protect line workers working to reconnect electrical service from accidental electrocution if the ‘receiving’ end of the circuit is actually carrying current. The downside to this is that, without a building cutoff to isolate the building, it won’t have any power available, in spite of the generating equipment, in the event of a blackout. But this is one of the safety measures that is needed to go along with more widely distributed generation sources.

A recent article in Commercial Building Products magazine (unfortunately not yet available online) discusses some of the issues that were raised by fire officials when reviewing the net-zero energy IDeAs Z-Squared building in San Jose, California. The Z-squared building is a zero net-energy and zero carbon (hence Z-Squared) building owned by a consulting firm dealing in efficient buildings. Part of the adaptive reuse of the building the firm occupies was the installation of 30 kilowatts of solar photovoltaic panels, and this raised some concern with local fire officials:

“‘The first things firemen do if a building is burning is cut the power to the building so they can spray water, and take axes and cut holes in the roof to let smoke out,’ said Kaneda. ‘Both of those actions are dangerous with photocells on the roof. First, cutting the power to the building from the [photovoltaic] cells still leaves the actual cells ‘live,’ so if a fireman were on the roof preparing to chop a hole in the roof, he could be electrocuted.’”

This is also a problem that has been pointed out with hybrid electric cars which have battery packs and electrical cables running through the vehicle with more current being carried than emergency response personnel may be familiar with. Police and firefighters are being trained to deal with the special considerations when a hybrid vehicle is involved in an accident. Auto manufacturers are making special guidelines available for safety and rescue personnel to enable them to safely respond to an emergency.

As with hybrid cars, unfamiliarity on the part of rescue personnel should not be used as an excuse to continue with the status quo and to forego implementing alternative energy systems. Concerns about these systems should be constructively addressed, rather than shutting out new systems because they are a new peg that doesn’t fit an existing hole. Building codes are constantly undergoing review and development. Energy codes, in particular, are getting more and more stringent. Other requirements, too, are subject to changing regulations. As renewable energy systems progress and become more widely distributed, I expect that there will be standards for individual power systems that will maintain adequate safety while allowing the growth in alternative energy systems.

Image Source: www.solarexpert.com/instroof5.html