How Do I Plan a Small Turbine Project? Contact your utility provider to confirm whether you have three or single phase power lines on or near your projected site. More » Contact your county's zoning officer about installation procedures, regulations, and permits. More » If permits will be granted and you have access to the required power lines, then you need to start monitoring your wind speeds. More » Apply for a grant from the State of Illinois Renewable Energy Resource Grant Choose which turbine you want to install; new vs. refurbished More » Apply for all required county permits 3 - 6 months More » Submit the Renewable Energy Resource Grant with permits 2 - 3 months More » Hire an accountant if approved to project your production tax credit More » Contact your local utility requesting an interconnect installation and negotiate a power purchasing agreement More » Purchase turbine and gather construction estimates. Your first step is to contact your local utility provider and speak with the substation and power line engineer to confirm whether you have three or single phase power lines on or near your property (within a few hundred feet of the turbine site) that have capacity for your proposed 35 kW wind turbine. Your site should be on top of a hill, in a clear area, as far away from houses and trees as possible; however, it is also important that your site not be more than a few hundred feet from the transformer and interconnect because the wiring will cost approximately $7 per foot. The transformer might need to be upgraded for a few thousand dollars. Next, you should call your county's zoning officer to inquire about the rules for installing an 80-foot turbine on your property and the steps you need to take to obtain a permit. When you are certain that you can connect to a power line near your site and that you will be able to get the proper permits, it is time to start monitoring the wind speeds at 80 feet or as high as possible. If you want to apply for a State of Illinois Renewable Energy Resources Grant (and you should if you want the project to be economical), you will need some justification that your site has enough wind to make your project work, but not necessarily a full year of wind data. For example, you could install an old water pumping windmill tower on your site and use a pipe to extend the tower enough to place an anemometer 65 feet above the ground. The anemometer will record average wind speeds, which must be collected monthly. You will have to be vigilant about making sure the anemometer is constantly working. A hail storm in the summer could damage the instrument, or winter ice might freeze it for days, causing you to miss some windy weather. In this scenario, we will assume that you use your own money (rather than borrowing from a bank) to pay for the turbine. For this situation, you might choose to use an E-15, a used turbine that once stood in California, but is now offered by a firm that specializes in refurbishing, selling, and maintaining these machines. It has a 50-foot diameter rotor and comes with an 80-foot lattice tower. These are good machines and, with proper maintenance, should last another 20 years. An E-15 will cost $63,000 installed and ready to run, $43,000 without foundation and installation, or as little as $15,000 without the refurbishing. (This last option would make for an ambitious project if you really want to do all the work yourself.) This turbine is estimated to generate 50,000 to 60,000 kWh per year on an 80-foot tall tower. This is a fairly short tower, making it extra important to avoid a site with buildings or trees within 500 feet, or better yet, a quarter mile. If wind data and financial analysis make the project appear feasible, you should call the Illinois Department of Commerce and request an application for the Renewable Energy Resources Grant Program. At the same time, you should apply for county permits, which will take three to six months to process. When you have gathered all the necessary information, you can submit your grant application with the expectation that you will get an answer in about two months. With a 35 kW turbine, you will be eligible for a grant for up to 50 percent of the cost of the machine and associated equipment required for its installation. The turbine, foundation, and interconnect together cost $65,000-$70,000, so you will be eligible for a $32,500-$35,000 grant. In this case, we will assume you requested $32,000. This is also a good time to hire an accountant to determine how much of the Federal Production Tax Credit you can use. The accountant will probably tell you that if you manage the turbine operations yourself and do most of the work yourself, you will be able to use the PTC. It is now valued at 1.8¢/ kWh or approximately $900 if your turbine produces 50,000 kWh in a year. Next, you will contact your local utility administrator responsible for net metering interconnects and power purchase agreements to request an interconnect. This and the power purchase contract will take you another one to three months to negotiate. The process will require some consultation with utility engineers and a utility final inspection before the turbine can operate. At this point, you will have spent at least ten months and $1,000. If your state grant application is successful, you can expect your investment to pay for itself in about 12 years. You can make more money on the project if you do your own turbine repairs and maintenance. See the chart below for a summary of costs and returns on this investment. The numbers come directly from the Windustry WindProject Calculator, available online at www.windustry.org. These numbers can help you decide if this kind of project is within your time and monetary budget. Do not assume that this scenario will be exactly the same as your real project. Results 0.18 Net annual turbine capacity factor (gives average power output 6.3kW) $55,188 Annual kWh of generation for turbine $33,000 Total cost of wind turbine(s) after state grant of $32,000 $33,000 Initial capital investment in wind turbine $0 Amount borrowed from bank; interest rate 8% 4.7% Internal rate of return over the life of the turbine; assumes full use of PTC 12 Number of years until cumulative after-tax cash flow exceeds down payment 18 Number of years to achieve positive net present value, based on 4% interest $47,142 Cumulative cash returned over study period $14,142 Cumulative net cash flow returned after deducting down payment $2,143 Cumulative savings in income tax over period; uses double declining depreciation $3,087 Maximum income tax saved in any year. (Use it or lose it.) Assumptions The Federal Production Tax Credit (at $0.018 kWh) is used. The Buyback Rate is $0.090 / kWh-an average for ComEd. Turbine Expenses $800 Annual operations and maintenance expense per wind turbine $200 Annual property tax per wind turbine $600 Annual insurance cost per wind turbine $200 Annual parts and equipment reserve per wind turbine 10.0% Percentage discount in costs for each additional wind turbine (except property tax) 3.0% Annual escalation factor in above costs Based on calculations from the Windustry WindProject Calculator. Please note that this analysis is based on general estimates for wind resource and costs in Illinois. Your results could differ significantly. The calculator works only as well as the numbers you put into it. Important Information About Small Turbine Projects Can a Small Wind Turbine be Economical in Illinois? How Do I Plan a Small Turbine Project? What is Net Metering? Are There Funding Resources Available? Illinois Opportunities Federal Incentives Find Your Average Wind Speed Small Wind Turbine Distributors

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