Wind energy team

Members

• Irene Shonle

• Dennis Kaan

• Mike Kostrzewa, PE, Director, CSU Wind Application Center

• Rebecca Cantwell, Colorado Harvesting Energy network

What is the potential of wind?

• The U.S. Department of Energy has announced a goal of obtaining 6% of U.S. electricity from wind by 2020

• Wind power could provide 20% of U.S. electricity needs by 2030

Colorado is 11th best state for wind resource

8th in nation for installed wind projects

Overview of wind

Is my site windy enough?

• Evaluating resource is first and most important step– Anemometer loan

program data– www.engr.colostate.edu/AL

P/ALP_Sites.htm

– Wind map

Turbine siting important

• Tower height• Trees/other objects

need to be at least 300 feet away

Scale of wind

• Small wind: for home owners, small businesses to offset electrical usage

• Big wind – leasing land to a wind developer can provide farmers/ranchers with steady income – 95% of land still useable – Need at least 60 acres per

megawatt

Emerging – Community wind

• Municipalities, large organizations own their own turbines– Local jobs, local benefits

• Only example in CO right now is of Lamar and Springfield “piggybacking” onto large wind farm– Presence of large farm allowed these towns to buy

five 1.5 MW turbines

• NECO wind in Sedgwick, Philips, and Logan Counties will soon construct 400 MW Farm

Potential issues

• Zoning – Varies by county, municipality

• Wildlife

• Noise

• Viewshed

• Transmission (big wind only)

• Difficult to find good information, independent testing

To learn more:– Come to agent training in spring (TBA)

• February? Eastern Plains?

– In-depth resources on website• http://www.ext.colostate.edu/energy/wind.html

– New fact sheets• Small wind - finished• Big wind -under review• Understanding wind resources -under

development

Upcoming from team

• Working on national wind curriculum with 8 other states– Wind webinars– more fact sheets on eXtension

• Small wind turbine to be installed outside Gilpin Extension Office