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.