Is Community Power Blowin’ in the Wind?

One advantage for solar over wind power is its ability to integrate with relative seamlessness into the municipal landscape. Wind turbines have either been too large, such as the 300-ft. tall behemoths comprising remote wind farms, or quite small, just big enough to power a single home. A dilemma for wind energy proponents has been how to create an effective, quiet, community-friendly midsize turbine for use with schools, government buildings, and other community-based facilities.

Middle Ground

Now a handful of wind turbine manufacturers are releasing products they hope will quell the issue of midsize wind power. Instead of the huge 3,000 kilowatt rated turbines shipped out to utility-scale farms on fleets of trucks, there are now much smaller 150 to 300 kilowatt turbines on the market — or coming soon. Manufacturers also hope these turbines will be found useful and financially sound in areas not known for a high wind resource. That includes Connecticut-based Optiwind, formed two years ago specifically to make midsize turbines that work in places like its home state and are geared toward schools, water treatment plants, and businesses — facilities with high energy needs which also lie within the community electrical grid.

There wind enthusiasts run into the hurdle of a population often leery of potential noise pollution, visual appeal, and flickering lights. In response Optiwind has varied considerably from the now-conventional three-blade turbine design. Instead they’ve opted for a cylindrical design (still about 200 feet tall) which has fans mounted on either side. The idea is that the wind will hit the circular structure swirl around it and through the fans, thus concentrating the wind so that it will enter the fans at a higher density and produce more power using less space. (more…)

Is Community Power Blowin’ in the Wind?