Conference Posters

Members of the Wind Advisors Team contributed to the following conference posters on small and midsize wind turbines and distributed wind technologies.

Jimenez, A.; Bowen, A.; Forsyth, T.; Huskey, A.; Sinclair, K.; van Dam, J.; Smith, J. (2010). Expanding Small Wind Turbine Certification Testing: Establishment of Regional Test Centers. National Renewable Energy Laboratory; NREL No. PO-7A2-47970. Presented at the WINDPOWER 2010 Conference & Exhibition, 23-26 May 2010, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Small wind turbine purchasers have many options but often lack information (such as third-party certification) to select a quality turbine. Most small wind turbines do not have third-party certification due to the expense and difficulty of the certification process. In North America, testing has been limited to U.S. Department of Energy-subsidized tests conducted at the National Wind Technology Center under the ongoing Independent Testing Project. This poster describes the project and how it fits within broader small wind turbine certification activities.

Meadows, B.; Forsyth, T.; Johnson, S.; Healow, D. (2010). Viability of Small Wind Distributed Generation for Farmers Who Irrigate. National Renewable Energy Laboratory; NREL No. PO-7A2-47971. Presented at the WINDPOWER 2010 Conference & Exhibition, 23-26 May 2010, Dallas, Texas, USA.
About 14% of U.S. farms are irrigated, representing 55 million acres of irrigated land. Irrigation on these farms is a major energy user in the United States, accounting for one-third of water withdrawals and 137 billion gallons per day. More than half of the Irrigation systems use electric energy. Wind energy can be a good choice for meeting irrigation energy needs. This poster presentation highlights case studies that show favorable and unfavorable policies that impact the growth of small wind in this important sector and demonstrate how net metering policies affect the viability of distributed wind generation for farmers who irrigate.