Monday, March 03, 2008

AWEA Small Wind Update: March 3, 2008

awea.org wind energy works for america

Dear AWEA Small Wind Turbine Committee,

Here is this month’s latest news in the small wind industry:

1. Tomorrow: Zoning Webinar for Small Wind

2. Small Wind Conference and Renewable Energy Fair

3. BWEA Publishes Small Wind Turbine Performance and Safety Standard

4. Illinois introduces small-wind grant program

5. Illinois introduces feed-in tariff bill benefitting small wind

6. Colorado introduces small-wind rebate program

7. Net metering bill introduced in Kansas legislature

8. Small Wind Events Calendar

_______________________

  1. Zoning Webinar for Small Wind: The Importance of Tower Height

The American Solar Energy Society's Small Wind Division will host the second in a series of webinars on zoning for small wind tomorrow, Tuesday, March 4th, 2008, at 1:00 pm EST. This webinar will offer interested small wind installers, potential buyers, advocates, and decision-makers, and others the opportunity to learn about the importance of tower height to small wind systems (up to 100 kW) and the implications for zoning. Mick Sagrillo of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association will provide an overview.

WEBINAR ACCESS:

Visual access on the Web:
1. Go to URL: https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join.php?i=PG9498222&p=9495851&t=c
[The link above takes you to https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join/ and automatically enters the Conference Number (PG9498222) and the Audience Passcode (9495851).]
2. Enter your name and e-mail address
3. Indicate that you have read the Privacy Policy.
4. Click on Proceed.
5. Download plug-in if necessary. You may need to click on proceed again.
(We recommend that you perform this login procedure a few minutes ahead of time to allow for the software download if you have not used MyMeetings before.)

Audio access by telephone:
USA Toll Free Number: (888) 391-6748
Participant Passcode: 9495851

Questions contact Megan Amsler of the ASES Small Wind Division at reliance@reliance.org

  1. MREA Small Wind Power Conference Now Accepting Proposals

The Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s (MREA) annual small wind conference is now accepting proposals for presentations. The conference, held June 17-18, 2008 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, brings together manufactures, installers and policy makers to address issues surrounding small wind systems. Proposals are due to Mick Sagrillo msagrillo@wizunwired.net by March 7th.

Small wind is defined as turbines 1 - 100 kilowatts (kW) and presentations should be limited to 15 minutes, with an additional five minutes for questions.

“Preference will go to 'experienced based' presentations; problems encountered in the field and how they were addressed or remedied; experience with new equipment, turbines, towers, and inverters; maintenance and repair histories; and anything that will be of value to wind installers or advancing the small wind industries understanding of siting, the wind resource, equipment in general, interconnection, insurance, zoning, etc.”

Presentations for, or pending for, AWEA or ASES programs are also acceptable.

Immediately following the conference will be the MREA’s 19th Annual Energy Fair, scheduled for June 20-22 2008 in Custer, WI.

To register for either event, or for more information, see http://the-mrea.org/smallwind.php

3. BWEA Publishes Small Wind Standard

The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) has published its performance and safety standard into the public domain with a publication date of 29 Feb 2008. It is now available at http://www.boost-energy.com/UserFiles/Downloads/BWEA_SWT_Cert_Std_29_Feb_08_.pdf

4. Illinois Announces $100,000+ in Grants For Small Wind

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has initiated a grant program for small wind turbines 100 kilowatts and under. Qualifying projects may be eligible for grants covering up to 50% of the cost of a system, capped at $25,000.

For more information, see http://www.eere.energy.gov/states/state_news_detail.cfm/news_id=10965/state=IL or http://www.agr.state.il.us/.

5. Illinois Introduces Bill for Advanced Renewable Tariffs

A new bill introduced into the Illinois state legislature on February 15 calls for a system of Advanced Renewable (“Feed-In”) Tariffs to encourage development of a number of renewable energy technologies, including small wind.

Bill HB 5855 would establish a fixed price per kilowatt-hour at which a utility must compensate a generator (such as a small wind turbine owner) for electricity produced in excess of on-site consumption. The tariff, or rate, proposed for small wind systems is up to $0.025 USD/kWh.

Illinois joins Michigan, California, Rhode Island, and Minnesota as the first states to introduce such legislation.

HB 5855 Full Text http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=51&GA=95&DocTypeId=HB&DocNum=5855&GAID=9&LegID=37530&SpecSess=&Session=

HB 5855 Bill Status http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=5855&GAID=9&GA=95&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=37530&SessionID=51

6. Colorado Announces New Small Wind Incentive

A new incentive program in Colorado will use Clean Energy Funds to provide financial incentives for homeowners and business owners to install small wind systems.

The program is offered by the Governor's Energy Office (GEO), which will partner with interested cities, municipalities, utilities, and non-profits by offering matching grants for wind turbine installations. GEO will award approximately eight matched grants of $25,000 and the program will facilitate 40 small wind energy installations throughout the state.

Details include:

o $25,000 maximum matching grant from GEO - $25,000 or greater match from the recipient is required

o Rebates will be paid for up to 10 kilowatts (kW) of installed DC capacity per installation, including systems larger than 10 kW

o Rebates will not exceed 50% of the total cost of the project, or $10,000

o Wind systems must be grid-tied and net metered by the interconnecting utility. Stand alone systems are not eligible

o Incentive will be $1/Watt DC from the partner and $1/Watt DC from GEO, totaling $2/Watt

For more information, visit GEO's website, www.colorado.gov/energy.

7. Net Metering Bill Introduced in Kansas

A bill recently introduced into the Kansas State Legislature, HB 2881, would institute a “net metering” program that would allow owners of small wind systems and other on-site renewables to receive fair, retail credit from their utility for any electricity they produce that they cannot use. The text of the bill can be found at http://www.kslegislature.org/bills/2008/2881.pdf.

8. Small Wind events calendar

For a comprehensive list of small-wind events around the country, see the Department of Energy’s Wind Powering America site at: http://www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/windpoweringamerica/calendar.asp

Ron Stimmel

Small-Wind Advocate

American Wind Energy Association

1101 14th St. Nw, 12th Floor

Washington, D.C. 20005

Ph: (202) 383-2546

If you believe you have received this e-mail in error, or wish to be unsubscribed from this list, please reply to this e-mail or send a message to rstimmel@awea.org.

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