Standards for Small-Scale Wind Power
| By Mike Collins - Aug 28th, 2009 at 1:35 pm EDT |
| Also listed in: Adams County | Broom Brigade |
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Categories: Environment / Conservation, Smart Energy Policy, Research & Technology, Budget Priorities
Categories: Environment / Conservation, Smart Energy Policy, Research & Technology, Budget Priorities
IMO, I don't find wind turbines as unsightly as telephone poles, power transmission towers and cables, roof top TV antennas, TV broadcast antennas, etc.. As a matter of fact it would look something like energy independence ought to look. There was a time, back 100 years or so, chimneys sprouted from every roof and spewed black coal smoke, some went out back to get water from the well, take a dump in an out house, dump edible garbage in a hog pen, dump the rest somewhere out of sight and lit houses with oil lamps and candles. Question is are we ready to evolve? MC
NY Times
August 28, 2009, 8:17 am
Standards for Small-Scale Wind Power
By Colin Miner
The Associated Press Standards are afoot for small turbines aimed at individual homeowners and small businesses.
The American Wind Energy Association is developing a series of standards that will measure the safety, reliability and performance of small wind turbines.
The standards, which the organization hopes to have in place by the end of the year, come amid increased interest in small-scale and rooftop wind power — typically designed for individual homes, farms and small businesses, and producing 100 kilowatts of electricity or less.
“We are charged with hearing from all materially affected persons as part of the process,” said John Dunlop, a senior project engineer at the association, which was tapped by the American National Standards Institute, which oversees the creation of thousands of standards for things as varied as bottled water and swimming pools, to steer the process for small wind standards.
The new codes, which are still being completed, would compel manufacturers to put their turbines through a variety of tests that might, for example, demonstrate their reliability by having them operate continuously for 2,500 hours (including 25 hours when the wind speed is in excess of 33 miles an hour). Other tests might be used to ensure that turbines don’t exceed a certain decibel level while operating, or are capable of shutting down in extremely high winds, which can be dangerous.
Mr. Dunlop cautions that while a standard, which would be administered by the newly formed Small Wind Certification Corporation, would help the industry gain credibility, there are several things it won’t do.
“It’s not going to make turbines more efficient,” he said. “If someone puts a highly efficient turbine in a low-wind location, it’s still not going to produce any energy. We want to create standards that will allow consumers to know what they’re getting.”
John Breshears of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects, which is responsible for an experimental rooftop turbine project in Portland, Ore., said that standards would be a boon for consumers by forcing manufacturers to be honest.
“Right now manufacturers can make any claim they want,” Mr. Breshears said, “and they do.”
NY Times
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/standards-for-small-scale-wind-power/?hp
NY Times
August 28, 2009, 8:17 am
Standards for Small-Scale Wind Power
By Colin Miner
The Associated Press Standards are afoot for small turbines aimed at individual homeowners and small businesses.
The American Wind Energy Association is developing a series of standards that will measure the safety, reliability and performance of small wind turbines.
The standards, which the organization hopes to have in place by the end of the year, come amid increased interest in small-scale and rooftop wind power — typically designed for individual homes, farms and small businesses, and producing 100 kilowatts of electricity or less.
“We are charged with hearing from all materially affected persons as part of the process,” said John Dunlop, a senior project engineer at the association, which was tapped by the American National Standards Institute, which oversees the creation of thousands of standards for things as varied as bottled water and swimming pools, to steer the process for small wind standards.
The new codes, which are still being completed, would compel manufacturers to put their turbines through a variety of tests that might, for example, demonstrate their reliability by having them operate continuously for 2,500 hours (including 25 hours when the wind speed is in excess of 33 miles an hour). Other tests might be used to ensure that turbines don’t exceed a certain decibel level while operating, or are capable of shutting down in extremely high winds, which can be dangerous.
Mr. Dunlop cautions that while a standard, which would be administered by the newly formed Small Wind Certification Corporation, would help the industry gain credibility, there are several things it won’t do.
“It’s not going to make turbines more efficient,” he said. “If someone puts a highly efficient turbine in a low-wind location, it’s still not going to produce any energy. We want to create standards that will allow consumers to know what they’re getting.”
John Breshears of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects, which is responsible for an experimental rooftop turbine project in Portland, Ore., said that standards would be a boon for consumers by forcing manufacturers to be honest.
“Right now manufacturers can make any claim they want,” Mr. Breshears said, “and they do.”
NY Times
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/standards-for-small-scale-wind-power/?hp
