My neighbors in Mud Bay are worried about the noise of my helix wind mill.  It’s highly un likely when the wind is a blowing in ‘da hood, that they will hear anything other than the wind.   Their concerns are based on a windmill the former owner had on the property over 15 years ago.    As I understand it from some of the long time neighbors, the former windmill took up the majority of the two acre field and was well over 100 feet high.   It was also extremely loud.    My new windmill is a vertical windmill made by Helix for urban enviroments that produces a noise signature LESS than most ambient noise produced from windy locations.  http://www.helixwind.com/download/factSheet63_1_Helix_Noise_Assessment.pdf , It is four feet wide and stands less than 35 feet tall.   Anyone who has ever come out to my point when it’s windy, knows well the roar of the wind.   When it’s calm, the vertical helix wind turbine won’t be operating any how, therefore, there will be no noise.

The bolts arrived and the concrete pad for the first windmill is poured.   Next we have to get the pole and in a month after the concrete pad cures, we can install the windmill.

Pouring the first wind mill base in Alaska

We have had a bit of a delay in installing the 5kw helix wind mill in Alaska.   But we are moving along.   here is where we are with this project:

1.  Continuing with the wind feasibility study.  A huge 60+mph gust took out the weather station.    Since we are down south at meetings and conferences, we had to get a local friend to put it back up.

2.  The Helix 5kw windmill was shipped.  Part of the packaging was damaged.  We’ll have to inspect it when we get back up there in December.

3.  We had sticker shock for the concrete pad pour.  There is only one concrete vendor in town and they charge 3 times more than any other concrete place in the US because of their monopolistic hold on the town.  We are holding our nose and paying their bill.   And contemplating setting up our own concrete plant to give folks in town an option and introducing some competition.

4. We ordered four sets of bolts for the concrete pour even though we are just installing one wind mill now since we want to put in three more wind mills next spring.   The bolts are showing up next week.

5. Kent is taking a class on installing the windmills this week so we can put the windmill up in December.

6.  We are ordering the pole for the windmill this week.   When you get a windmill - they do not sell you everything you need to install it.  BIG lessons learned.

My graphics design team and I came up with this conceptual drawing of a wind farm in Haines Alaska.   Depending on the size of the wind turbines, this wind farm can create from 9 to 18 mw of power.  The town right now only uses 3 to 4 MW of power.  The extra power could be used to create a hydrogen refueling station for a fleet of fuel cell powered fishing boats at the small boat harbor.

I got the second anemenoter fully operational and recording on the internet - go to www.weatherlink.com and zoom in on Haines Alaska.   The two anemoneters are about a mile apart but the wind direction and velocity could be hundreds of miles apart.   Right now, the wind is gusting at the Mud Bay weather station in excess of 60 MPH from the south.  The weather station up on the hill is actually reading “calm” with a gust of 40 MPH from two hours ago.    Maybe the solution out here is to use both as when it’s very windy up on the hill, it might be quite a bit calmer at the sea level location.  Time will tell what is the best approach.

If you think you have an area that would offer sufficient wind to create energy from wind power, you need to do a wind feasibility study.   A wind feasibility study gives you measured data so you know the direction, and speed of the wind at various times of the year.   Without the measured data, you are making an uneducated guess about the viability of the site for creating wind power.

Right now I am doing two wind feasibility studies on two different locations.   The first wind study, it took about a month to get all the equipment working correctly to accurately log the wind speed and direction over the internet.

Weather Station Standing Tall

The first problem I ran into was location.   I had a large pole already on my property that I thought I could mount the weather station.   The location of the pole was in a wind shadow on the property - so while it was in a convenient location for me to capture the wireless data and be able to view it via the internet, it was not in the location where there was sufficient wind to create power from a wind turbine.   So I had to move the weather station to the windier location on the property.    I needed mounting equipment to do this.  It took several attempts to get the weather station to stay upright, especially in high winds.  I finally got the weather station pole to stay up right in high winds by attaching three 75 foot twisted wire cables to the pole anchored into the ground by three foot long steel posts (the type used in pouring concrete).

Weather Console connected to DSL

The new location of the weather station was not close to the house with the internet connection.  I tried a signal booster from the wireless transponder on the weather station - but there were large boulders in between where the weather station was and the weather station receiver.   So I had to get a DSL connection into a small house by the weather station.   After about two weeks of collecting data, we noticed that there was a stand of trees about 50 feet in front of the weather station that was blocking most of the winds from the south from reaching the weather station.  You guessed it, down they came (they were on my property).   It didn’t make any sense to block the wind from the proposed wind turbine site or the weather station collecting data to assess the speed and direction of the wind.

The second weather station is up on a hill where I have another piece of property.  The neighbors had a large telephone pole I could use to mount the anemometer (measures wind speed and direction).   They also had electricity and an internet DSL connection.   We mounted the anemometer on their pole, hooked up the weather station inside their house and connected it to the internet.  IT WORKED.   For a day.   Then they disconnected it claiming it was messing up their internet connection.   Not sure how this could be - but regardless, it required that I have a temporary power pole connected on my property and the phone company connect DSL and a phone line on my empty lot so that I could continue the wind feasibility study.

Having set up two of these wind feasibility studies now, I’m learning.   Here is what is required to set up a wind feasibility study:

1. Figure out where the wind blows the strongest and the most consistently on the property where you want to put up a wind turbine.  You might need to clear some trees, or remove structures obstructing the flow of wind through your area.

2. Determine how you are going to mount your weather station or anemometer- make sure you mount it about the same height as your wind turbine will be.   The higher you go, the stronger the wind gets and the more you will need to take measures to keep the equipment upright.

3. Get the equipment - some states have weather station loaning programs.   You will still have to get the mounting equipment as this varies based on location.   If you want your own weather station long term, I recommend the Davis Vantage Pro 2 Wireless Weather Station.  It comes with a solar powered transponder that sends all the weather station data to the Davis Vantage Pro 2 weather station console.  Get it with the internet connectivity equipment.   You can get the USB connector to just download the information from the weather console onto your computer - HOWEVER, it is far easier to connect the weather station console to the internet and see the data from wherever you are.

I found it easiest to purchase it directly from Davis Instruments.   They are very prompt and I got my equipment within three days up in rural Alaska.   You do not need to get the entire weather station, but it costs as much as the anemometer, solar transponder and weather console.   The ONLY reason I would NOT get the entire weather station is because the large rain bucket from the weather station puts too much weight on the weather station pole.   If you can securely anchor the weather station pole and the weight isn’t a problem, just get the entire weather station.   It provides a much more comprehensive picture of the weather where you would want to put a wind turbine.

4. When you get the equipment, set it all up indoors to make sure it works BEFORE you mount it outside.  This means assembling all the parts, hooking up the solar transponder, and making sure the weather station console is picking up the data.  Once you get that working, then you can connect your weather station to the internet.  This is extremely simple as you just plug the internet adapter into the weather console and connect it to your DSL modem.   You may need to get an ethernet hub so you can plug in multiple devices to your DSL (computer, weather station, etc).   The weatherlink software explains how to set up the weather station on www.weatherlink.com.   It also explains how to download the weather data onto your system with their weatherlink software.   You can also track your weather data on the Weather Underground station.  This takes a bit more work.   But it is fairly simple if you are technically oriented.  If using the internet in anyway confuses you, hire someone to help you set this up as you will save yourself a lot of headaches.

5. Once the system is working inside the house, now it’s time to mount the system outside.   If you have a clear line of site from where you are mounting your weather station to your house where the weather console is, you are done.  If not, you have to get power and an internet connection to within line of site at your weather station location.

How much does this cost?

That depends on your mounting requirements, site prep requirements, availability of power and internet.

Basic costs could include:

1. Clear trees - one day of labor - I had the tractor and the guys already working for me.  Land clearing estimates would apply - $100 per hour for the equipment and $25 per hour for each laborer.  Four hours of work - $600.

2. Mounting the hardware - three days of experimenting and the mounting hardware.  Cost for my labor - I’m free (for my projects) but you could expect to pay someone who knows what they are doing $150 an hour.   Cost for the hardware - $350.  Cost for the installation - estimate $600.

3. Cost of the weather station equipment - $1100.   I still have to return the signal repeater I purchased that did not work, that was an extra $300.

4. Cost of temporary power - $250 to install.  Estimating $25 per month (on the high side)

5. Cost of the phone line and dsl - $50 per month.

6. Cost to monitor the wind study - again my time is “free” on my projects - I spend about an hour a week looking at the reports.   If you have to pay someone, estimate $500 per month.

Total Cost for a Year Long Wind Study (if you’re paying someone else to do it) = $9800.  This does not include their travel costs.   If you can “borrow” the equipment,  use existing poles, and tie into existing power and internet,  hypothetically, you can do this for no cost.     The more you can do yourself,  obviously the less it will cost.    If you’re doing this for someone else, they should pay you as they are going to get a payback from your efforts.

How long does it take?

That depends on where the wind feasibility site is.  If you don’t have power and dsl - it could take up to a month to get the whole system installed.   If the site for the weather station is ready, estimate a week to get the equipment and a couple hours to set it up and install it.  If you’ve never done this before, estimate a month for the first one to work out all the bugs.

A note here - if you are doing a wind study in a remote location - you really need to think about how you are going to use the power that you are creating in this remote location.   If you are going to create the power for use by a small community - you will need transmissions lines out to the site.  You can get remote data loggers for the anemometers - and pull the information off the data loggers when you visit the site. This will add to the cost and complexity of doing the wind study.

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP

Wind Power in Rural Alaska

I have been doing a wind feasibility study on a property in Alaska since April for a small 5kw wind mill I want to install for basic home use.   I have another piece of property that could be a potential location for small community wind farm.   After studying what else is going on in Alaska and talking with folks in the power industry up here, it appears the largest impediment to these small rural Alaskan wind farms is not the funding as the state has already approved $50 million in funding per year, but it is the land that needs to be set aside to create the wind farm.  Well that problem is solved in my location, because I own it.   So, now it’s onto evaluating the feasibility of that location for wind power.  

Here are some links I’ve been studying to get smarter on a community wind farm in rural alaska:

1. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) Economics of Wind Power Report - Feb. 2005

2.  The Annual Report on US Wind Power Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends, 2006. 

It doesn’t appear there has been another “annual” report issued by the Department of Energy. 

3.  State of Alaska calls for more rural wind farms - Jan. 28, 2009 - Anchorage Daily News

Some key points:

• AK plans to spend $100 million on wind farms to bring down rural electric rates that are being driven up by the price of diesel for diesel generators.  
• Reduction in the price of electricity is 15% from the wind energy projects.
• Alaska Energy Authority is slated to spend $50 million per year in renewable energy projects around the state. 
• Getting permission to use the land and the building permits appears to hold up the process for many of these rural wind farms.
• The existing wind farms have reduced the use of diesel generated electricity by up to 50,000 gallons per year.

Now this is an incredibly innovative design - the Jelly Fish Windmill. Lets do a back of the envelope payback analysis. Being at this renewable energy conference this week in Las Vegas, I am more convinced than ever that we are going to see major electrical rate increases as the utility companies pass on their cost of upgrades onto the end consumer. So lets just say for ease of calculation that your electric bill in five years is $.20/kwh - that makes this new windmill cost savings of $8 per month. If it costs you $200 to acquire, and it really is as easy as plugging it into the wall so you have no installation costs, than the payback period is about two years. $8 per month doesn’t seem like much, but a payback period of a little over 2 years - WOW. You can place these about 15 feet apart so for a house 40 feet wide, you could put two on there. They are also working on a 1.2 kw design - and two of those could provide the typical house at the typical current usage profiles about half their electrical needs. This could very well be the most affordable solution to becoming energy self-sufficient coming down the pike.

I like to go after “low hanging” fruit - that is those opportunities that are easy to grab. I’ve been evaluating where is the best location for me to use wind power and here is what I have found so far:

Interesting Wind Mill Design that Can Handle High Gusts and Wind Coming from All Directions.

1. You can do “small” (very small”) wind applications in residential developments IF you can make it look like it’s a hobby.  The restrictions are:

• It can’t disturb your neighbors - think barking dog here from a nuisance perspective.
• It can’t exceed 30 feet in height - think TV antenna here.
• You may not be able to tie it into the electrical grid.
• This will limit the amount of electricity you can generate from wind power - most likely less than 1 kw.

2.  On larger lots (over 5 acres) you may be able to put up a residential wind mill,  but you have to:

• Comply with all local zoning laws (this mean getting the proper permits).
• Make sure you site the windmill in a location that gets the most consistent wind.  (I am on my way to a property in Alaska to put up a web-based weather station to evaluate the consistency of the wind speed over several months).
• Evaluate the stability of the ground where you will be mounting the wind mill structure.
• You will likely be able to generate most if not all of your electrical power from a windmill if you have a good consistent wind flow and it may be up to 1/2 the cost of doing a solar array that would put out the same power.

Of the three property locations I manage,  I am considering wind power on two properties that are consistently windy - one in Nevada and one in Alaska.   The property in Connecticut is unsuitable for wind power as is not windy there - it is Connecticut after all - peaceful tranquil, bucolic.

In Nevada, my primary concern is the permitting process as no one in my neighborhood yet has a wind mill and it is a pretty tight home owners association to contend with.

In Alaska, several of my neighbors already have wind mills.   My main concern is large wind gusts.  The lot routinely sees gusts over 50 MPH.   I have to get a fairly robust wind mill to withstand large gusts.   Additionally, the electrical company up there does not do net metering yet.   So I will have to have a battery back up system.

Because of the gusting wind issue, I found the Helix Windspire 5 KW system may work for the property in Alaska.   They offered to do a site assessment for $1500.  From preliminary conversations that did not include putting up the weather station.    Prior to comitting to their “remote” site assessment, I wanted to collect my own wind data with a web-based weather station.

I did find a very good resource for a summary of small residential wind mills - http://www.allsmallwindturbines.com/. Having earned my first engineering degree in Aerospace Engineering, I tend to prefer the more high tech designs. But there are some inexpensive “DIY” designs as well for those that like to tinker - check out www.earth4energy.com if you are interested in a do it yourself application.