Community wind refers to 100-kW to 100-MW projects owned in part by local community members, often land owners of the site. Though community wind represents only 4% of the overall wind market, it’s the fastest growing segment of the industry. The community-wind development model has several benefits over traditional absentee-owned mega farms. Landowners often have…

Woodstock Minnesota may bear the same name as its New York counterpart, but instead of a stage full of musicians, it sports a field full of wind turbines. The 11 Siemens SWT 2.3-MW units of the Ridgewind farm are a source of power for 10,000 homes and local businesses. But more importantly, they are a…

Community wind projects provide a wealth of information about what works and what doesn’t when financing a utility-scale project.

A manufacturer of wind measurement equipment has announced a program to fuel the growth of community-scale wind power projects. The Community Wind Information Service uses leading-edge wind measurement technology from Second Wind Inc, to provide comprehensive wind resource analyses to individuals and groups considering wind turbines. The service will let community wind developers decide quickly…

A manufacturer of wind measurement systems has developed a turn-key community wind information service to provide community wind project developers with analysis of wind power potential. Second Wind says its program will fuel the growth of community-scale wind power projects

SED and University of Delaware found Gamesa agreeable to supplying a single turbine for university campus.

A family owned Texas wind development company and a New York community wind developer have completed their portion of work on a 51-MW wind-power project in Windthorst, Texas. OwnEnergy Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y. (ownenergy.net) and Horn Wind (hornwind.com) located outside of Dallas, developed the project as a joint venture and have subsequently sold a majority stake…

Erin Edholm National Wind Minneapolis Traditional wind plant developers often say their work benefits landowners by providing them with royalty or lease payments. While such an arrangement does provide some benefit to the community, the business model makes little provision for ownership or local participation. One community-based wind project in Minnesota works on another principle…

Community-wind developers often encounter some opposition when developing projects. It may surface as misinformed, for example, insisting that the turbines kill birds and wind farms depress land values, among other things. They are not true but the charges deserve more detailed explanations to effectively dispel them. Hence, this column and others to follow will deal…

Traditional wind plant developers often say  their work benefits landowners by providing  them with royalty or lease payments. While such an arrangement does provide some benefit to the community, the business model makes little provision for ownership or local participation. One community-based wind project in Minnesota works on another principle of making the landowners the…

Turbine developer Aeronautica Windpower, Plymouth, Mass, says the wind industry has been looking for a turbine that produces more than 100 kW, without having to go to the size or expense of a 600 or 700 kW machine. The Aeronautica 29-225, one solution to the problem, can generate 225 kW yet sit on a 40-m…