Home and Farm Scale Wind
Small wind turbines (sometimes called home- or farm-scale turbines) are turbines that produce enough power for a single home, farm, or small business. Typically, small wind turbines have an output rating of 100 kW or less, but this can be larger and will vary based on on-site electricity needs and the laws of a particular state. Check out our Scale of Wind diagram that depicts the differences in size and power of wind turbines.
Our small wind resources include:
- Planning a Small Wind Project - Find information, tips, tricks, and advice on putting together a small wind project of your own.
- Small Wind Resources - Browse or search our library of resources related to small wind.
- Wind Energy Companies - Find installers, dealers and other small wind-related businesses.
- Wind Basics - Learn everything from how wind energy works to the economics of a wind project with our Wind Basics series.
- Wind Farmers Network - View and post questions that will be answered by experts on our Wind Farmers Network.
The 6th annual Small Wind Conference is the premier event for small wind-electric system designers and installers, and for those involved in sales, specification, management, funding, and permitting of small wind systems. More than 300 small wind professionals and industry representatives from across the United States and nine countries attended the 2009 conference, a key opportunity for open and honest dialogue, networking and education within the industry.
If you’re not sure where to start, we’ve listed a few of our favorite small wind resources at the bottom of this page that should help get you started.
Read more:
Two veterans in the small wind industry, Mick Sagrillo & Ian Woofenden, give the straight scoop—no sugarcoating—on how to select the right wind turbine for your site. The authors review 22 home-, farm-, business-, and school-scale wind turbines. This article is a reprint from the June & July 2009 issue of Home Power magazine.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 extended many consumer tax incentives originally introduced in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT) and amended in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-343).
This web site uses the pending AWEA standards for small wind turbines for product listing and comparison. The draft standard is pending during 2009. Once approved, the Small Wild Certification Council will begin using it.
"Wind energy works and makes environmental sense—more so today than ever before—but consumers have to be on their guard," writes wind energy pioneer, expert, and advocate Paul Gipe in his newly revised Wind Energy Basics, Second Edition: A Guide to Home- and Community-Scale Wind-Energy Systems. Gipe has worked for over three decades in renewable energy, has authored seven books, and has lectured widely on wind energy and how to minimize its impact on the environment and the communities of which it is a part.
The American Wind Energy Association provides Small Wind resources including information on the installation of wind turbines and the promotion of wind energy, along with market studies and policy information.
The Wind Powering America web site contains resources for Small Wind for Homeowners, Ranchers, and Small Businesses, including Small Wind Electric Systems Consumer's Guides, events, webinars, news, publications, and web resources. Wind Powering America is part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program that leads the nation's efforts to improve the performance, lower the costs, and accelerate the deployment of wind and water power technologies.
Visit the Wind Powering America web site.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory operates a Small Wind Turbine Research program. Their work includes independent testing, regional test centers, turbine development, and field verification.
Visit the National Renewable Energy Laboratory web site.
