By Max VanSkiver, South Central Public Power District

According to the Nebraska Energy Office, Nebraska ranks 6th in the United States for wind energy potential. It may be many people’s perception that there is plenty of “free” wind energy in the state going to waste and that we all need to get on board and start using the “free” wind energy amongst us; especially when our electric rates continue to go up. Right? Norris Public Power feels an obligation to educate our customers on the costs associated with installing “free” wind energy for their home. First let’s take a step back in time.

Windmills have been in use for centuries. Less than a century ago, virtually every farmstead had a windmill. With the advent of REA central station power, people came to rely less and less on the wind for water. I cannot think of a new rural home built in the last 30 years that had a functional windmill installed on the site.

However, starting about 1980, wind turbine electric generators starting popping up in rural locations across the country. This was at least partially driven by tax incentives offered by the Federal Government in response to the “energy crisis of 1979-80”. Most of the machines that were installed during that era fell into disservice within a short time.

Over the past twenty years, home scale wind turbine technology has no doubt improved. The manufacturers of today’s wind machines claim a 20-year life for their machines. Enough research has been conducted to provide fairly reliable power production estimates if good wind resource information is available.

Unfortunately, modern wind machines can be expensive. To get an idea of what to expect for economics, I did a little research on the internet. I looked into the costs associated with installing two home-scale wind turbines, rated 2 kW and 10 kW respectively. Keep in mind that a 2 kW machine would equate to providing enough electricity to run an 1850 watt hair dryer. In comparison, a 10 kW machine would provide enough electricity for a small/average size home; that is if the wind was blowing at a relatively constant speed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

According to the manufacturer of the 10 kW machine, a homeowner could expect to spend about $46,000 for an installed wind turbine (however, a 10 kW machine installed in southeast Nebraska during 2007 cost over $60,000). If a $46,000 turbine is financed for 20 years at 5% and requires NO maintenance over the 20 years, the annual cost of ownership is $3,715. That would equate to a monthly electric bill of $310 for 20 years for your home! In comparison, the average monthly electric bill for a 1200 sq. ft. ranch home with a full basement is approximately $150.

Given the above assumptions and depending upon the quality of the wind resource, the cost of power produced over the operating life of the turbine could be expected to range from between 17 and 58 cents per kWh produced. The lower cost power could be expected from a machine on a windy ridge installed well above any trees or other obstacles. A machine shielded by a windbreak in a valley might produce the higher cost.

With regard to wind generation, the old real estate maximum, “location, location, location” applies. Two identical wind machines will have wildly differing levels of energy production depending upon where they are installed.

According to the manufacturer of the machine rated at about 2 kW, a homeowner could expect to spend about $15,000 for an installed wind turbine. If the turbine is financed for 20 years at 5% and requires NO maintenance over the 20 years, the annual cost of ownership is $1,204.

Again, given the assumptions and depending on the quality of the wind resource, the cost of power produced over the operating life of the turbine could be expected to range from between 18 and 63 cents per kWh produced. Small, commercially available wind machines do NOT appear to be economically feasible at this time in this area.

The basic physical laws that govern converting wind energy to electrical power favor larger, taller wind turbines. The amount of energy available increases by a factor of 4 every time rotor diameter is doubled and by a factor of 8 every time wind speed is doubled.

As a homeowner, rather than spend $15,000 or more to generate a little energy when the wind blows, you would be better served if the money were spent to save energy, no matter what the wind speed, by installing more efficient HVAC and water heating systems or making improvements to your home’s insulation/air infiltration systems.