• Is installing a wind turbine "worth it"?
• Do I need batteries, or can I connect a wind turbine directly to the grid?
• How high does a wind turbine need to be installed?
• What is net metering?
• What is the Standard Offer Program (SOP), or Standard Offer Contract (SOC)?
• How much will a Scirocco wind turbine produce at my site?
• I want to grid-connect a wind turbine, will I still have power when the grid goes out?
• Can I pump water using a wind turbine?
• Where can I find an explanation of the terms used with wind turbines?
• How can I protect my wind turbine and inverter from lightning damage?

Is Installing a wind turbine "worth it"?

Somehow this is often the first question people ask. The answer is not so straight-forward. Value depends on your point of view. Does the wind generator have to pay for itself? Maybe you want to feel good about producing and using energy that does not create greenhouse gasses. Or is your house off the grid completely and getting hooked-up would cost (nearly) as much as a wind genny plus some solar panels? In these cases payback may not be important at all, and a turbine can still be considered cost-effective.

Another point of view is that many people don't think twice about paying as much as an installed wind turbine would cost to purchase a car (A little BMW convertible for that mid-life crisis, for example). That car is going to loose value the moment you drive it off the dealer's lot, not to mention what you will be spending more yet on gasoline over its lifetime. A wind turbine on the other hand would be producing electricity for the next 20 years, and even if in that time it does not pay for itself entirely it would still be a much better investment than that luxury car. Installing a wind turbine just because you want to is not such a bad reason, certainly it is much better for the environment than spending that money on a car. Some have coined the term "recreational wind" for this.

Another popular use that we are seeing more and more these days are businesses that put up a wind turbine right at their doorstep. The idea behind it is to use the windmill as an advertising statement, it draws in customers, and presents a 'green' image of the business, possibly a bit greener than that business actually deserves. There's even a special term; it's called "green washing". Wal-Mart, for example has realized it can use a bit of this. Once again, economic payback in terms of energy production is only secondary.

Of course there are cases where installing a wind generator is strictly an economical decision, based on a return-on-investment calculation. We have several detailed examples of how this can be calculated. More often than not though, it will be a combination of factors that go into the decision making process, some tangible, some less so.

Do I need batteries, or can I connect a wind turbine directly to the grid?

Either way is possible. In fact, just about anything you wish is possible (as they say, it is all a matter of money). The simplest is to have just the wind generator plus an inverter that connects it to the grid, without batteries. The downside is that if the grid goes down, so does the electricity in your house, even in a roaring storm with the turbine spinning like there is no tomorrow. Batteries can keep you going in case of a power outage, but they come at a (steep) price.

If you plan to use a wind turbine off-grid, for a cottage for example, you will need batteries. To do this an Aurora inverter can be combined with either an Outback or SunnyIsland (SMA) inverter. Outback calls this "AC coupling". It will back-feed the batteries over the inverter. Excess energy can optionally be sold back to the utility. To avoid overcharging the batteries the inverter is combined with a regular diversion controller, such as a TriStar C-60 (Morningstar).Basically anything is possible, adding a backup generator, adding solar panels, and more. For a better understanding of how things get hooked up please take a look at the wind basics section. It has a detailed description of several on- and off-grid scenarios.

Unless you know exactly what you want (and even if you do!), it pays to talk to a renewable energy expert in your area to help you tailor a system that fulfills your needs.

How high does a wind turbine need to be installed?

Installing a wind turbine on too short a tower is like installing solar panels in the shade. The wind is the 'fuel' for the turbine, starving it of fuel is going to result in disappointing production. Just like a car needs gasoline of a specific grade, your wind turbine needs nice, even wind. Turbulence will kill production, and given time, kill your wind turbine as well because of the additional stress it creates. Turbulence is generated by every obstacle that the wind hits. So, the trick is to get your genny in air that is not turbulent.

For a much more detailed discussion on wind turbine siting, including how to determine the minimum tower height, please see our page on turbine site selection in the Wind Basics section.

What is net metering?

A number of provinces in Canada offer net metering for renewable energy. With net metering the electricity company measures both the energy you produce, and the energy you use for a certain time period (usually one  or two years), subtract the two, and you pay for the extra you used. Key to understanding net metering is that you will not receive a penny for any excess electricity you produced over the metering time period. In other words, if you used 10,000 kWh during the year, and produced 13,000 kWh, you will be giving away 3,000 kWh to the power company at the end of the year. This means it is in your best interest to produce only as much as you can use over the metering time period, and no more.

What net metering comes down to is that it allows you to use the electricity grid as an infinitely efficient, and limitless battery. During those winter storms your wind turbine may be producing more power than you need, dumping the excess onto the grid. While in the summer you may well have insufficient wind to fill your needs, so you draw the shortfall from the grid, using up what you 'stored' during the winter months.

For return-on-investment calculations, every kWh you produce with net metering displaces the differential cost of a kWh you would have to buy from your electricity company. In other words, this is the price you would pay for every extra kWh used. At the time of this writing, that meant every kWh produced by wind saved 14.3 cents using net metering in Ontario. That is the number used to calculate payback. Again, keep in mind that producing more than you can use during the metering period will not save a penny, your electricity company will love you though since they get this for free.

At this time net metering is available in most provinces. Some even add financial incentives by reimbursing a percentage of the cost of installing renewable energy sources. Please see the links section for a full list of provincial information.

What is the Standard Offer Program (SOP), or Standard Offer Contract (SOC)?

The Ontario Standard Offer Program will pay you outright for every kWh produced through renewable energy sources. Under the contract, the power company will pay 42 cents per kWh for solar energy (photovoltaic), and 11 cents per kWh for all other forms of renewable energy. Contract duration is 20 years, and the rates are partially indexed for inflation. Renewable energy projects up to 10 MW are eligible.

Even with the SOP in effect, it is still cheaper for small wind energy projects to opt for net metering, as long as you produce less than you use per year. The rate saved per kWh for net metering is 14.3 cents, at the time of this writing. That is more than the 11 cents per kWh you would receive under the SOP.

The SOP does actually allow for a hybrid form of net metering. It is allowed to first use the produced energy to offset your own home, farm of business use, and get paid for the excess that is delivered to the grid. There are extra requirements and costs for this, such as an extra meter for the renewable energy generator that can meter on an hourly basis, and a premises load meter that also meters on an hourly basis. What this means in practise is that any energy you produce locally will first offset your own use at the price you pay per kWh to the utility company. If there is any excess beyond your own use, you will get paid for that, though at a lower rate (SOP price less the hourly Ontario energy price). Please see the official SOP rules text for the exact details.

How much will a Scirocco wind turbine produce at my site?

Short of installing a wind monitor (anemometer) at the exact site and, if possible the height as well, of the future wind turbine, and letting it log data for a year or so, it is impossible to tell exactly how much a Scirocco is going to produce for you. By the way, that is exactly what the big guys do before deciding on that 1 MW windmill. Having said that, there is a way to get a good idea of the wind potential at your site without ever leaving your chair.

First, look up your location in both the Ontario wind atlas (if you are in Ontario), and the national wind atlas. Get the average wind speed at a height that is the closest to the height of your intended wind turbine. Another good source for wind speeds is from a weather station in your neighbourhood, if you have one. They report wind speeds normalized to 10 meters above ground level. Then use the Eoltec spreadsheet for the Scirocco to calculate production for your site and tower height. This spreadsheet already takes some losses into account, the default is 10% loss and that is a good number for a reasonable installation.

Actual production will very much depend on the exact location of your wind turbine. If you can install it on a ridge top the wind speeds will likely be a little higher than found in the wind atlas, if you locate it in a valley then they will be a bit less. Turbulence will also make a very large difference in production. Remember the rule that the turbine needs to be at least 30 feet (10 meters) above any obstacle in a 300 feet (100 meter) radius.

I want to grid-connect a wind turbine, will I still have power when the grid goes out?

That depends on how your wind turbine is connected to the grid. If you have batteries for backup then you will have power when the grid goes out, at least to a number of loads in your house. Without batteries there will be no power to your house when there is a power outage, even if the wind is blowing and your turbine spinning. For more information on how a wind turbine can be connected please see the wind basics section.

Can I pump water using a wind turbine?

Absolutely! There are pump controllers for wind turbines that can drive a water pump directly. For the Scirocco wind turbine the Eolian DPC driver is available. This makes pumping water for livestock an option for remote sites that have sufficient wind.

Where can I find an explanation of the terms used with wind turbines?

The comparison matrix page has a detailed description of many of the terms used for discussing wind turbines.

How can I protect my wind turbine and inverter from lightning damage?

We are glad you asked! Since there is so little real information out there on lightning protection we have compiled a set of pages that sum up best practices and give advise on how to create real lightning protection with modest means. There is much that can be done to mitigate lightning damage, and some of it does not cost any money. All it takes is a better understanding on how lightning does its destructive work.