Green Eye View

One of the Museum of Science's Wind Turbines 2010

The Museum of Science (MoS) in Cambridge, MA is hoping to capture the wind in their new turbines and share that data with you.  In May, I went to a presentation where they explained the various turbines installed as part of the MoS study and shared their experiences to-date.

These are not the large wind turbines in farms you may have seen, like Cape Wind.

Definition from Wikipedia:

Small wind turbines are wind turbines which have lower energy output than large commercial wind turbines, such as those found in wind farms. These turbines may be as small as a fifty watt generator for boat, caravan, or miniature refrigeration unit. Small units often have direct drive generators, direct current output, aeroelastic blades, lifetime bearings and use a vane to point into the wind. Larger, more costly turbines generally have geared power trains, alternating current output, flaps and are actively pointed into the wind. Direct drive generators and aeroelastic blades for large wind turbines are being researched.

MoS is studying five small wind turbines from different manufacturers and using different designs.

Windspire
Skystream 3.7
Swift
Aerovironment AVX1000
Proven WT6000

These turbines are designed to capture low wind speeds (although they are able to withstand much higher such as 60 mph).  My key learning was that placement on a flat roof is very important and paying for a designer to map the optimal placement can make a significant difference in the efficiency.  Also, you don’t need sustained winds to get value out of these turbines.  However, the cost of the turbines may not be recouped quickly enough (which I define by < 20 years)  if you are in a low wind area, making this tough for residential installations, and possibly, in commercial installations.  MoS pointed out that ground-mounted small wind turbines make more sense in windy areas.  Personally, I was hoping to see more wind turbines as I looked out at the skyline of Boston, Massachusetts.  MoS is really paving the way.

Last Thoughts: While I was listening to the presentation, I couldn’t help but wonder if wind would be a good supplement for power where solar installations are in use.  I would postulate that there are stronger, sustained winds in the cooler months here in New England, although I have no data at this time to support this theory.  In summary, I’m not compelled to choose a small wind turbine over solar panels in either a commercial or residential installation.  The data from MoS will be available to installers and consumers, and I encourage you to check their site for more information.

Catching The Wind Exhibit 2010

Museum of Science Wind Web Site

PDF Document: MOS Wind Lab Overview

I would also recommend checking out their “Catching the Wind” exhibit.

Any thoughts on the value of wind over solar?  Or perhaps comments on solar plus wind installations?