In June, KidWind will be teaming up with the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) to hold another HUGE KidWind Challenge at one of the largest Wind Power Conferences in the world!  This year KidWind will be holding the Student Challenge on the trade show floor – where students will be able to brush shoulders and interact with thousands of professionals in the wind industry.

At the KidWind Challenge, students design and construct small-scale wind turbines from scratch. KidWind brings a custom-built, portable wind tunnel to the competition – where student teams test their wind turbines to see who can produce the most power! There will be opportunities to win  cash prizes this year, and all participants will get t-shirts. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend the WINDPOWER Conference for free, hear from some incredible guest speakers, and show off your engineering prowess to the pros!

What is a KidWind Challenge?

The KidWind Challenge is a student-oriented wind turbine design contest — think pine wood derby for wind power!

Over a period of a few months, students spend time designing and constructing their own wind turbines with the goal of creating a device that is efficient, elegant and highly functional. To accomplish this task, and arrive prepared at a Challenge, students must perform research to better understand the science of wind, be analytical about testing protocols, think creatively about solutions to problems and work collaboratively to get their project completed on time.

Learn more here or here.

Interested?!  KidWind has hundreds of students signed up and are looking for Judges, Mentors and Coaches in some locations.

Contact Joe and Mike at KidWind to get involved.

AWEA 2011 Small Wind Turbine Market Report Executive Summary

“Windplanners signing the turbine blades“ Photo Credit - Dave Strong, SED Senior Project Manager

True to their namesake, the Windjammers of Camden Hills Regional High School in Rockport, Maine, recently completed a grand eight-year voyage of the 21st century. Captained by the students, the school undertook several years of research, fundraising, and the successful navigation of complex permitting channels to deliver a 100kW community wind project. The Windjammers themselves raised over half a million dollars to fund the project and acquired all of the permits and approvals necessary to install the machine. Sustainable Energy Developments (SED) was selected by the school to fill the role of guiding this voyage to a close.  Contracted in January of this year to construct the 100kW wind turbine project, which now stands 155 feet tall between the school’s athletic fields, SED’s experienced construction team, based in Ontario, New York, finished the installation just three months later. On Thursday, March 22nd, 21st century wind power was surging through the halls of the high school.

The industry defines community wind as locally-owned, commercial-scale wind projects that optimize local benefits. Through hard work and perseverance, the Windjammers have redefined the meaning of “community wind” as one in which all community members are integral in the process. The project’s success proves that even the most unexpected, inexperienced or youngest of community members can contribute to significant, positive and lasting change. The next generation of voyagers has arrived.

Under the advisement of Camden Hills science teacher Margo Murphy, the Five Town Community School District Director of Operations and Maintenance Keith Rose, and with the help of professional community wind specialists at SED, the Camden Hills students delivered this gift to their fellow classmates, future Windjammers, and the entire community. At a ribbon cutting ceremony held under the Northern Power machine, SED’s CEO Kevin Schulte commended and challenged the “Windplanners”, a name given to the group of students responsible for the project. “Go to college, continue to study renewable energy and help us rebuild this country by entering the green job force after you earn your degree.”

In order to bring this project to fruition, students acquired and applied real world understanding of economics, business planning, public policy and teamwork.  The tangible results of this unparalleled educational experience now tower over the campus as a symbol of community strength, unity and initiative. The Camden Hills Windplanners are an inspiration to the staff at SED and, as the company celebrates ten years of business, are a reminder of the spirit that led the company to start developing community wind and solar projects in the Northeastern United States. After successfully completing the Camden Hills 100kW installation, SED takes a newly invigorated sense of optimism and commitment forward into the next decade of community energy development.

Source: SED

Photo courtesy Milwaukee Office of Environmental Sustainability

“We’re very pleased with the construction, we’re happy that it’s 100% made in the U.S. and that we’ve got Wisconsin manufacturers contributing parts to the turbine,” Matt Howard, the city’s Director of Environmental Sustainability said.

Milwaukee’s Office of Environmental Sustainability used their Facebook page  to inform the community about the project, with regular updates and multiple photos of the construction.

Northern Power Systems of Vermont sold the Northwind100 turbine to Milwaukee, and contracted with Bassett Mechanical of Kaukauna to build the tower. Other state contractors contributed components as well. Randy Faller owns Kettle View Renewable Energy, the company hired to install the Port turbine. Faller says his crew installs an increasing number of these mid-sized turbines.

“One of the most exciting parts about this project is that this tower was made by Bassett Mechanical in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. And it’s really the first tower made in Wisconsin, so it’s pretty exciting. The turbine itself traveled cross country from its manufacturer in Vermont, but they obtain a lot of their supply casting for the turbine itself from companies in Green Bay, in Waukesha and Milwaukee,” Faller said to local reporters.

Erected next to the Port Administration Building on Lake Michigan, the turbine is 120 feet tall to the nacelle, with the rotors reaching up to 154 feet at the highest point in their rotation, making it significantly larger than the small turbines that are on the grounds of Discovery World/Pier Wisconsin, but less than half the size of utility scale wind turbines that have been erected in Fond du Lac County and elsewhere around the state in recent years.

The $600,000 project was funded with ARRA stimulus money, as well as the state Focus on Energy program and WE Energies. The city’s goal was to create a symbol for clean energy in the city as well as to offset the energy costs associated with the Port headquarters building.

The Port turbine can produce up to 100kW of power and it is estimated that it will produce at least 109,000 kilowatt-hours annually. That would more than offset the Port Administration Building’s power use, which in 2010 was approximately 100,000 kWh. In the first six weeks of operation, the turbine produced 21,921 kWh, more than the amount that was required by the building it powers. The excess is sold to WE Energies.

You can view current wind conditions at the port’s administration building and energy production by clicking on this link.

The Small Wind Certification Council (SWCC) recently announced that it has obtained ISO Guide 65 accreditation from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) to certify small wind turbines.

SWCC certifies small wind turbines against standards published by the American Wind Energy Association, in this case, AWEA Standard 9.1-2009. Certification of wind turbines ensures that turbine designs are tested and evaluated according to industry standards for performance and safety.

Accreditation to ISO Guide 65 ensures the universal recognition of SWCC turbine certifications worldwide, while ensuring that certification activities are conducted impartially, systematically and in a uniform manner. Guide 65 ensures that the resulting product certifications are consistent with international standards and based on objective testing.

A2LA’s accreditation of SWCC in accordance with the recognized International Standard ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996, General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems, “demonstrates technical competence for a defined scope and the operation of a quality management system,” according to A2LA President & CEO Peter Unger.

SWCC’s accreditation certificate number and scope are available on the A2LA website.

The SWCC is an independent, accredited certification body that certifies small wind turbines meet or exceed the requirements of the AWEA Standard. SWCC certification is an independent confirmation that a small wind turbine has been tested and designed according to the requirements of the AWEA Standard. This certification provides a common North American standard for reporting turbine energy and sound performance, and helps small wind technology gain mainstream acceptance.

Consumer labels, ratings and summary reports for SWCC certified turbine models, including tabulated power curves, acoustic data, and tower design requirements, along with a complete list of SWCC pending applicant turbine models, are available here . SWCC updates its certified turbines table and application status table on its website as milestones are reached.

 Source: SWCC

To quote the Distributed Wind Energy Association (DWEA), “The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced its final wind siting guidelines. They now clearly differentiate between distributed and community wind and larger wind projects. This change is due to DWEA’s extensive advocacy in prior months. We put this issue on the map, as they say. We worked with the Department of Interior, Congress and numerous other stakeholders to educate them about our industry and get buy in for an alternative approach.”

The Service intends that these Guidelines, when used in concert with the appropriate regulatory tools, will form the best practical approach for conservation of species of concern.  As stated in Chapter 1, “A developer of a distributed or community scale wind project may find it useful to consider the general principles of the tiered approach to assess and reduce potential impacts to species of concern, including answering Tier 1 questions using publicly available information. In the vast majority of situations, appropriately sited small wind projects are not likely to pose significant risks to species of concern. Answering Tier 1 questions will assist a developer of distributed or community wind projects, as well as landowners, in assessing the need to further communicate with the Service…”

The Guidelines also provide Best Management Practices for site development, construction, retrofitting, repowering, and decommissioning.  In Chapter 7, it mentions the “Bird Flight Diverters” (BFDs). To see a photograph of one, click here.  Even when a Bird Flight Diverter is not required, a guyed-lattice tower with BFDs may be a cost-effective and acceptable alternative for a Town that insists on using only monopole towers to protect avian wildlife.

The usefulness of these Guidelines lay in part in the fact that they were created by an independent, knowledgeable, unbiased third-party.  If issues arise during local approval, referencing a document drafted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service may enhance credibility.

The news release about the Guidelines can be found here.

The complete Guidelines can be found here.

Source: NYSERDA and USDA

The first of the two conferences on the calendar is AWEA’s WINDPOWER 2012, from June 3-6^th in Atlanta, Georgia. WINDPOWER is recognized as one of the fastest-growing trade shows in the U.S.  Last year, over 15,000 people attended the conference, about 18% of whom reported that they were involved in Community and Distributed Wind on a regular basis, according to figures on the AWEA website.

This year, the conference features several special tracks, among them one titled, “Community & Distributed Wind.” This track consists of three special sessions on Monday, June 4^th.  Discussions within these sessions will address the future potential of, and economic value in, community and distributed wind. “The growing popularity of community wind projects is bringing numerous jobs and economic stimulus to communities, creating neighborhood purpose and sustainability. Similarly, distributed wind’s role in emerging and domestic markets demonstrates the strength and value it brings to our national economy,” according to AWEA.  Speakers in the track will examine the successes and challenges that these sectors face, as well as what the future holds for the industry.

Main conference registration rates for WINDPOWER 2012 range from $580 for non-profit/academic participants to $1330 for Advocate Members and non-members, and include a free set of conference proceedings.  One-day conference passes and exhibition-only passes are available for lesser rates.  All rates go up after June 1^st.  For more information or to register, click here.

The Small Wind (Installers) Conference, June 12-13^th in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, is aimed solely at the Small Wind community. Organizers describe it as ”a gathering of installers, manufacturers, dealers, distributors, educators and advocates.”

Much smaller and more focused, the Small Wind Conference has drawn around 350 people in recent years, a “who’s who of small wind manufacturers and vendors.”

Organizers tout the opportunities for “networking with all the major small wind stakeholders in North America and beyond.” Dan Juhl, wind energy pioneer, will be the Keynote Speaker on the first day of the conference this year.  The two days of the conference will be filled with presentations and honest dialogue on topics of interest to the Small Wind community, with nearly 50 presenters, and dozens of exhibitors. There will also be opportunities for small wind workshops and manufacturer training

The day before the conference starts, there are two workshops scheduled: the 2012 Zoning Summit, and Fundamentals of Wind Energy.  The conference will once again be followed by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s Energy Fair.  The Fair claims to be “the largest renewable energy and sustainable living event on the planet,” educating and entertaining all for the long weekend after the Small Wind Conference.

The cost for the conference is $300, with rates going up on June 1^st. For more information or to register, click here.

Good luck making your travel plans this year!

Source:  Small Wind Conference and AWEA

With almost 40 attendees representing the 11 official Wind for Schools states and related stakeholders, the opportunity for everyone involved to meet and discuss ways to further the Wind for Schools projects in their states could not be missed.

Wind for Schools project leader Charles Newcomb described the event as a mutually beneficial experience for the Wind Powering America team and the Wind for Schools participants. He said that two-way communication is an integral part of the event, including hearing reports from the groups.

“This summit gives them an opportunity to engage in conversation that gives everyone a much better perspective of how they are learning as an institution,” Newcomb said. “It was helpful to get their updates, hear about their challenges, and see how people are overcoming some of the issues.”

Newcomb added that this summit identifies consistent concerns, which in turn allows Wind Powering America to target its technical support better in the future.

In 2011, many states involved in Wind for Schools experienced victories. The North Carolina team installed seven turbines at schools in mountain counties and on the coast. According to David French, associate director of the North Carolina Wind Application Center, his state’s success can be attributed to hiring someone to search for funding.

“We hired someone to search for money full time; that’s her job,” French said. “A lot of our success comes from landing a few big grants. I guess the advice that she would give, and my first advice, would be to hire somebody. If you’re a busy academic, then you can’t look for funding all the time. She was able to meet people face to face and really go after it.”

Long-term financial sustainability and the concerns surrounding it are critical due to the end of direct funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the initial six Wind for Schools state projects.

“All of the original six states have been able to identify funding sources that can cover different aspects of their Wind for Schools activities,” reported Ian Baring-Gould, the technical director of the Wind Powering America initiative. “Although this is great news, the core challenge is finding a sustainable model that covers all of the diverse activities encapsulated in this one program.”

According to Larry Flowers, deputy director of distributed and community wind for the American Wind Energy Association, the next year will be important for the Wind for Schools project.

“One of the biggest issues now is, how do we change the program to make it sustainable from a funding standpoint, as well as an institutional standpoint. That’s something that we’ll evaluate in 2012, and when we come together next year, we’ll have some successful sustainability models that each of the groups can look at and adapt for their states,” Flowers said.

In addition to sessions about utilizing a variety of funding sources to create programmatic sustainability, topics discussed during the summit included a small wind industry update, current project barriers, and curricula integration at the K-12 and university level.

Kimberley Anne Maher of the Alaska Center for Energy & Power is a new member of the Wind for Schools project team. She attended the summit for the first time this year.

“Costs in Alaska are much higher than they are elsewhere because of our location and geographic hurdles, the lack of roads, and low population densities spread out over huge areas,” Maher said. “We’re trying to see how we can take the great work that’s been done in Alaska and try to move forward, to do the most good with the resources that we have. So it’s great to see what the other states have been doing, to get new ideas of how they’re tackling issues, and the range of programming.”

According to Jonathan Bartlett, Wind Powering America national technical director, the summit was an accomplishment in many ways.

“The summit was a success in terms of bringing everyone together and exchanging lessons learned. It gives everyone an opportunity to increase their resources of information in a very quick manner. We see there are variations between different states, but there are solutions that can be applied from one to another. As far as going forward, we are definitely interested in finding ways to have the program continue to increase its effectiveness,” Bartlett said.

Established in 2005 to raise awareness in rural America about the benefits of wind energy while simultaneously developing a wind energy workforce and knowledge base in future leaders of our communities, states, and nation, the Wind for Schools project was originally supported through funding and technical assistance by the DOE.

Through Wind Powering America, DOE currently supports activities in 11 states (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Virginia) while other states such as Illinois are becoming involved through the Wind for Schools affiliates project.

Click here for more information about the Wind for Schools project.

Source:  U.S. Department of Energy

Application deadlines:

RE/EE Grant Applications and Combination Loan/Grant Applications: March 30, 2012
Guaranteed Loan Only Applications: June 29, 2012
RE Feasibility Study Applications: March 30, 2012

Click here for more information.

Renewable energy advocates and a solar industry trade group filed a joint submission on December 14, 2011 as part of the province of Ontario’s scheduled two-year review of its groundbreaking feed-in tariff (FIT) program.

The 100-page report by the Green Energy Act Alliance and Shine Ontario Association to Minister of Energy Chris Bentley urged the government to stay the course and maintain the integrity of the FIT program while proposing significant changes to details of the program.

Ontario launched a comprehensive feed-in tariff program in the fall of 2009. The first of its kind in North America, the program set feed-in tariffs as the mechanism for procuring new renewable generation from wind turbines, solar panels, hydro-electric plants, and biogas generators. Administered by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), the program included a review after two years.

The Green Energy Act Alliance (GEA) was the major public interest organization advocating for a feed-in tariff program in Ontario. The GEA is a who’s who of Canadian environmental groups and renewable energy advocates, including Environmental Defence, the Pembina Institute, World Wildlife Fund, the David Suzuki Foundation, the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, and the Community Power Fund among others.

Shine Ontario is a new Ontario trade association representing solar photovoltaic (solar PV) manufacturers, project developers, and installers. The association includes the largest solar PV manufacturer in Ontario, Canadian Solar, whose plant near Guelph is capable of 250 MW of modules per year, and SkyPower a major developer of solar power plants.

The joint submission is unusual because the objectives of renewable energy advocates often differ from those of trade associations. However, the disparate groups and businesses agreed on several key recommendations.

• Raise Ontario’s sights–set annual targets of installations by technology
• Keep integrity of the program: Keep FITs for all technologies, all sizes
• Cut Solar PV tariffs from 11% to 32%
• Introduce annual tariff degression targets for Solar PV
• Introduce new Solar PV “brownfield” tranche
• Add new technologies to the FIT program including solar hot water, ground-source heat pumps, small wind, and energy efficiency
• Make price-setting and grid connection more transparent
• Establish a carve-out for FIT contracts by community and aboriginal groups
• Reduce wind costs by introducing differentiated wind tariffs
• Revise future FIT reviews to allow more time for stakeholder engagement

Significantly, the joint submission urged Ontario’s Minister of Energy Bentley to set annual installation targets for each technology that would result in more than 15,000 MW of new renewables by 2018, including more than 6,000 MW of solar PV and more than 7,000 MW of wind. Under Ontario conditions, this mix of new resources could generate more than 30 TWh, contributing a modest 23% to the province’s supply of electricity.

The report notes that many other jurisdictions have much more aggressive targets for new renewable energy than the proposed program.

As part of the report, proponents commissioned a California consultant, Robert Freehling, to construct a model for estimating the impact of the proposed program on Ontario ratepayers. Freehling calculated that the mid-cost scenario would add about 10% to ratepayers’ cost of electricity through 2018, the midpoint of OPA’s planning horizon.

Ontario is planning to build two new nuclear power plants within the next decade. Freehling calculated that if the new renewable generation offset the construction of the new nuclear plants, there would be little or no additional cost to Ontario ratepayers for the renewable generation.

The solar industry participants in the joint submission provided data on installed costs, annual operating costs (including substantial lease fees for rooftop installations), and their desired return on equity. This data was used to calculate “indicative” tariffs for the different solar PV tranches in the proposed program.

As part of their call for increased transparency in Ontario’s FIT program, the proponents placed their tariff calculations and Freehling’s costing model in the public domain. OPA, the Ministry of Energy, and the public have full access to both models.

Previous tariff calculations were made by OPA using a proprietary discounted cash flow model. The model used in the joint submission adapts the Profitability Index Method developed by Bernard Chabot. The latter method uses fewer key variables than required in a discounted cash flow model, allowing for more transparent rate setting.

Chabot had advised the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association in 2005 for its first report to the Ontario Ministry of Energy for what eventually became the Standard Offer Contract program. Chabot has presented workshops on his methodology for tariff setting across Canada and the US.

Now that both the model for calculating indicative tariffs and the model for estimating program costs are in the public domain, they can be used by proponents of feed-in tariffs elsewhere in North America.

The joint submission also urged that Ontario expand the feed-in tariff program to include solar hot water, ground-source heat pumps, and energy efficiency as recently pioneered in Great Britain.

The report also recommended that Ontario revise the tariffs for wind energy by moving to differentiated tariffs like those used in Germany, France, and Switzerland. Adopting differentiated wind tariffs would have the effect of cutting wind tariffs at windier sites in the province while keeping the base tariff the same as in 2009.

[Disclosure: Paul Gipe participated in the Green Energy Act Alliance's contribution to the joint submission by the GEAA and Shine Ontario Association.]