For the most part I have deliberately tried to ignore the Rube Goldberg approach to enacting a wind ordinance in Coos Bay but I note from today’s article that there is still a lot of ignorance about small wind. Yes, trees and buildings can block wind but can also establish wind tunnel effects and two European studies confirm, double the velocity of wind. A modest 8MPH wind can be almost 16MPH on a rooftop and a 1,000 24kW turbines scattered around commercial rooftops in a windy city is the equivalent of a 25MW wind farm and is more efficient because the power is produced at the point of consumption.
Eventually, small turbines, including ducted fan turbines like mine will be more commonplace because there are millions of acres of windy rooftop real estate that could be providing power. First we have to get past some of the typical misconceptions about noise, output and “flicker”.
What’s your cost per kwh?
Pray that no elected officail in Coos Bay will ever be called upon to make a decision at a time of a catastrophic event. None will receive the forward thinker of the year award either.