An iPod for Wind Power?

[jpak]

http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=16623&hed=An+iPod+for+Wind+Power%3f

Venture capitalists have found it difficult to make investments in wind power. That’s frustrating, because VCs are anxious to put money into clean energy, and wind power is gaining speed. But so far most wind power consists of large-scale wind farms that produce electricity for utilities.
 
New technology could change that. Earlier this month, Southwest Windpower (SWWP) raised $8 million to launch a small generator that could bring wind power to individual homes and businesses. “It will unlock an extraordinary market, here and abroad,” says Hap Ellis, a general partner at RockPort Capital Partners, which led the round.

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SWWP’s technology targets a new market for wind—any building on at least half an acre in a wind-rich location. While SWWP already makes small wind turbines for “off-grid” customers—that is, customers that are too isolated to be connected to the electric grid—it has only sold some 95,000 in the last seven years, says CEO Frank Greco.

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SWWP’s new turbine is much easier to use. It includes all the inverters, controllers, and other parts needed to connect to the grid. They are all contained within the body of the generator, lowering the production and installation costs, says Mr. Greco, who expects a retail price of around $5,500. At that price, the average cost per kilowatt hour would be $0.08—not including subsidies available in many states, he says. That means wind can beat the cost of regular electricity, which in the U.S.
averages $0.09 per kilowatt hour, he says. The turbine also produces electricity at lower wind speeds and the blades top out at only 300 rotations per minute to reduce noise, he says.

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[texastoast]

1. Awesome!

At a recent Earth Day festival I met up with a guy who has a solar array and a funky little wind turbine at his house. The wind turbine looked to be about 30-40 feet tall. He is able to produce 30% of his energy needs, and that is down here where wind is nothing compared to other areas.

[Ian David]

2. Is Wind Energy right for your home?

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DO I HAVE THE RIGHT WIND RESOURCE? Wind is the “fuel” for your wind generator. You should have at least a 9 MPH average wind speed at your location.. There are several wind maps for most States which will give you an idea of the wind resource at your house. Some states have even more accurate interactive windmaps. Check out these maps and see if you have the right wind resource. You should live in a “Class One” or better site.

More:
http://www.windenergy.com/is_wind.htm

[skids]

3. What's really missing is the very low-end.

I think there would be signifigant pressure on small turbine manufacturers to bring prices down if there were small 15-45 Watt units mass-marketed for remote power uses such as wireless hubs, security cameras, etc. A tiny shrouded Savonious could be contructed from two plastic injection molds no more expensive than a few lawn chairs, and a low-rpm generator/electronics no more expensive than, say, a bubblejet printer.

"Efficiency" of these units would usck, of course, but they'd be popular for the "spend $20, slap it on a fence post, attach a small 12V battery, and your weather monitoring station/gate opener/whatever is powered" factor.

The mass marketing could make them so cheap that an array of them would rival the larger turbines, at which point people would start asking questions of the larger microturbine manufacturers along the lines of "when are you going to get off your ass and design something cheap?" (Not that I don't appreciate that most of these manufacturers are small startups that have problems optimizing their component supply lines and a lot of R&D expenses to amortize.)

Something around this size, with the necessity of being bundled with PV panels and a lamp:



http://panasonic.co.jp/mesc/products/en/product/windseagull/example.html

[JohnWxy]

4. Fascinating. Sort of the Henry Ford of Wind Power!