Wind in Yucca

Rolo
Rolo Registered Users Posts: 11
I currently have a solar setup at my winter place in Yucca, Az. In the months from October through March we have some fairly blustery days. When I say blustery, the 5th wheel was shaking pretty good even with 8 jack stands under it. Last half of February when I was down had serveral overcast and very windy days.

I am considering wind generation to suppliment charging my batteries. Winds are either NW or SE.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Doug

Comments

  • audredger
    audredger Solar Expert Posts: 272 ✭✭
    Re: Wind in Yucca

    Get a nanometer, better a recording anemometer, and measure the sustained speed. Most wind turbines require ~ 24mph to get rated output. Then research throughly. Most small turbines have reliability issues. Look at the problems others have had on this forum.

    PS 24 mph is howling... blustery may not get it
  • russ
    russ Solar Expert Posts: 593 ✭✭
    Re: Wind in Yucca

    The anemometer needs to be at the height the turbine would be installed.

    Almost guaranteed you don't have anything like an average wind speed of 24 mph, which like Mike points out, many small turbines are rated at. There are very few places in the US that have that kind of wind.

    Most small turbines fall in the category of junk - a few don't.

    İf you get your average wind speed (say 12 mph) and the turbine you select is rated at 100 watts at that wind speed and you consider a capacity factor of 20% which is good for a small turbine you can get you potential annual production as follows:

    100 watts * 8760 hours per year * 20% capacity factor = 175 kWh annual production

    That is exactly how the commercial guys do it. They go high to get good wind in a good location and try to reach a capacity factor of 35% max
  • Rolo
    Rolo Registered Users Posts: 11
    Re: Wind in Yucca

    I know that a few miles up the road from me in Kingman is a proposed 400Mw wind generation plant on the drawing board. Phase one has been completed.
  • russ
    russ Solar Expert Posts: 593 ✭✭
    Re: Wind in Yucca

    One kilometer from me, down on the shoreline there is good wind.

    One kilometer behind me on top the hills there is good wind.

    There is a commercial wind farm just a few kilometers away.

    My weather station reports on the wind at my house though only at about 10 meters elevation. Due to the lay of the land İ could never ever get a turbine to pay for itself - not in a hundred years.

    The commercial wind farm you mention is with tall towers for sure - they help get up into usable winds. The location was carefully selected you can be sure.
  • audredger
    audredger Solar Expert Posts: 272 ✭✭
    Re: Wind in Yucca

    I don't mean to discourage you too much but, I do encourage you to do due diligence. Get an anemometer and know what kind of winds you have. Anemometer's aren't cheap but they are allot cheaper than wind turbines.

    Russ is correct, the measurements need to be at the height of your proposed turbine. Get the data then, make an educated decision. The wrong decision with just a guess may cost you more that you are willing to spend on that piece of knowledge!
  • peterako
    peterako Solar Expert Posts: 144 ✭✭
    Re: Wind in Yucca

    Keep as well in mind that a stormy wind ( changing direction and speeding up/down ) are as well very bad for the wind generator ( it has problems following and the stress brakes it down).
    The cost for a good pillar can be more than the wind generator.

    In my case my wind generator is producing avg. around 45% cap.
    Bud if it wash on the other corner from my ground it wash less than 5%.

    4KM a way from my there is a guy whith 2 6KW wind generators the first one is running on 50% cap. the second one installed one year later same model same tower is on 30% cap.
    The difference is that it is just out of the stream in between the hiles 6km away.

    The correct location is really a difficult iseu.

    greetings from Greece