Return on investment is key and our program helps you take advantage of the Federal Investment Tax Credit, Bonus Depreciation, and selling surplus energy.
Considering a renewable energy source like small wind turbine? It’s important for agri-business, commercial and industrial operation owners to be aware that the U.S. Department of Energy has made available a Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) to help off-set initial small wind turbine installation costs.
The ITC is worth 30% of the total installed price of your wind turbine project. What’s more, no qualifications are required to be eligible.
If you are interested in reducing your federal taxes, installing a wind turbine is a perfect solution. Even if you paid in money to the government for 2011 taxes, you could qualify for a credit by amending your tax return and receive a credit.
To learn more, contact us toll free at 1-877-946-3775and we will be happy to provide all the details.
On January 24, 2012, AWEA issued a press release stating that several media outlets were reporting that President Obama would mention wind power and manufacturing jobs in his State of the Union address this evening, including reports that Bryan Ritterby of American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) member company Energetx Composites of Holland, MI will be First Lady Michelle Obama’s guest for the speech.
This would mark the fifth time wind power has been mentioned in the SOTU in the last decade, by President George W. Bush in 2006 and 2007 and previously by President Obama in 2009 and 2011.
Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), issued the following statement that day as background for reporters covering the speech.
“Wind energy is one of the few sources of agreement in a divided Washington. But with an expiration of wind’s key federal incentive, the Production Tax Credit (PTC), looming at the end of the year, these good manufacturing jobs are in peril.
Wind energy has installed more than a third of all new electric generation in this country in recent years and is powering one of America’s fastest growing manufacturing sectors. Over the last six years, U.S. domestic production of wind turbine components has grown 12-fold, to more than 400 facilities in 43 states. And with stable tax policy wind power is poised to grow to almost 100,000 jobs in just four years and stay on track toward supporting 500,000 jobs by 2030 according to forecasts by the George W. Bush administration.
Wind power is on schedule to generate 20 percent of America’s electricity by 2030 and already generates 20 percent of the electricity in Iowa and South Dakota. And this success story is spreading all across the U.S.
However, with uncertainty over the PTC, layoffs have already begun and studies have forecast they will increase with each month we near expiration.
Fortunately, a growing bipartisan coalition understands this urgency. Political and business leaders including more than a dozen Republican cosponsors and groups like the National Association of Manufacturers, Edison Electric Institute and American Farm Bureau Federation realize that wind power is not a Republican or Democratic issue, it is a manufacturing jobs issue. Extending the PTC will keep these good American manufacturing jobs here and keep providing a new source of clean, affordable energy to American consumers.”
Source: AWEA
Link to article from AWEA’s site.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the size of the wind turbine you need depends on your application. Small turbines range in size from 20 watts to 100 kilowatts (kW). The smaller or “micro” (20- to 500-watt) turbines are used in a variety of applications, such as charging batteries for recreational vehicles and sailboats.
One- to 10-kW turbines can be used in applications, such as pumping water. Wind energy has been used for centuries to pump water and grind grain. Although mechanical windmills still provide a sensible, low-cost option for pumping water in low-wind areas, farmers and ranchers are finding that wind-electric pumping is a little more versatile, and they can pump twice the volume for the same initial investment. In addition, mechanical windmills must be placed directly above the well, which may not take the best advantage of available wind resources. Wind-electric pumping systems can be placed where the wind resource is the best and connected to the pump motor with an electric cable.
Turbines used in residential applications can range in size from 400 watts to 100 kW (100 kW for very large loads), depending on the amount of electricity you want to generate. For residential applications, you should establish an energy budget to help define the turbine size you will need. For example, Minnesota landowners can seek out wind turbine providers who can help you size your system based on your electricity needs and the specifics of local wind patterns.
A typical home uses approximately 10,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year (about 830 kWh per month). Depending on the average wind speed in the area, a wind turbine rated in the range of 5 to 15 kW would be required to make a significant contribution to this demand. A 1.5- kW wind turbine will meet the needs of a home requiring 300 kWh per month in a location with a 14-mile-per-hour (6.26-meters-per-second) annual average wind speed. The wind turbine provider can help you determine the expected annual energy output of the turbine as a function of annual average wind speed.
For example, in Wisconsin, the wind turbine provider will also share information on the maximum wind speed at which the turbine is designed to operate safely. Most turbines have automatic overspeed-governing systems to keep the rotor from spinning out of control in very high winds. This information, along with your local wind speed and your energy budget, will help you decide which size turbine will best meet your electricity needs.
Source: Small Wind Electric Systems: A Minnesota Consumer’s Guide by U.S. Department of Energy
Windustry recently held a webinar examining the market for clean, affordable, homegrown wind energy and recent growth in sales, capacity, and incentives for small wind turbines (up to 100 kW) powering homes, farms, and businesses.
Audio and text versions of the webinar are available (WMV 19.0 MB) Download Windows Media Player. Time: 01:23:41. Text Version.
The first in a series of free webinars, the webinar was designed for attendance by the general public, local officials, state and federal regulators, permitting officials, facility siting officials, state and federal policy makers, and others interested in small and community wind development.
America’s small wind turbine industry saw substantial growth in 2010, highlighted by a 26 percent expansion in the market for small wind systems with 25.6 megawatts (MW) of capacity added, as well as a robust increase in sales revenue. Nearly 8,000 small wind units were sold last year, totaling $139 million in sales. The U.S. small wind industry represents an estimated 1,500 full-time equivalent jobs. Small wind turbines manufactured in North America typically incorporated 80-percent domestic content.
With small wind scaling up during the last few years, its benefits are becoming more noticeable. Growth in 2010 pushed cumulative sales in the United States to an estimated 179 MW of capacity-a total that reaches well into the range of many utility-scale wind farms. As a result, small wind is having a positive impact on the environment, as installations now annually displace 161,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. That is the equivalent of taking 28,000 cars off the road.
The webinar speakers discussed:
Larry Flowers, AWEA deputy director of Distributed and Community Wind
Lisa Daniels, Windustry executive director
Net Metering is an important program that certain states’ legislation and statutes offer in order to help make small wind turbine systems more economically viable and attractive to land owners. For example, the State of Minnesota has set a strong example in support for progressive renewable-minded folks through the Minnesota Statute 216b Net Metering Law.
Net metering laws, or in many cases referred to as “distributed generation” or “co-generation,” are a key function that certain states have set in place specifically to set the direction as well as provide support for functional, efficient and clean electric producing renewable energy systems. This legislation and program is vital to successful economics for renewable system buyers. At the same time, once in place, the utility company serving the renewable energy system receives the necessary carbon reduction credits as identified and mandated by the federal government.
What is Net Metering?
In layman’s terms, Net Metering is a policy implemented by some states, followed by electric utilities, to ensure that any surplus electricity produced by an on-site generator, such as a small wind turbine system, can be sent back into the grid, and the utility to provide fair credit and or payment at an average retail rate.
For example, if a facilities’ utility-connected, small wind turbine produces more electricity than utilized by the customer, the excess electricity is sent back into the distribution system (grid), captured and controlled by the utility, and to be used by someone else.
Net Metering allows such a customer to be compensated for surplus production at the end of the billing period, or monthly, depending on the choice the customer makes on the standard state contract. Since a meter is used to measure in- and out-flow, and per contract, the customer automatically receives compensation from the utility for excess electricity produced.
Success Story
For Peter and Diane Mittelsted of rural Dexter, Net Metering is a concept that appealed to them from the get-go in their search for a wind turbine on their farm.
After they did some research, which included contacting Renewable Energy SD, the upper Midwest’s leading provider of wind turbine systems, the couple broke ground this past summer, and now the family’s very own wind turbine is up and running. The new wind turbine should power the whole farm – and then some.
The Mittelsted’s turbine is expected to produce about $15,000 to $17,000 per year in energy. Since the family’s electrical bill has been averaging about $500 a month ($6,000 per year), those checks are projected to add up to approximately $10,000 per year.
In conversation with Mr. Peter Mittlested, he stated that part of the reason they put in their own wind power was that he was looking forward to his own retirement. Not only will their bills be reduced in their retirement years, but they’ll have some extra income, too.
