Wind energy team

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Wind energy team
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Members

• Irene Shonle
• Dennis Kaan
• Mike Kostrzewa, PE, Director, CSU Wind
  Application Center
• Rebecca Cantwell, Colorado Harvesting Energy
  network

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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

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Colorado is 11th best state for wind resource
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8th in nation for installed wind projects
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Overview of wind
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Is my site windy enough?

• Evaluating resource is first and most important
  step
• Anemometer loan program data
• www.engr.colostate.edu/ALP/ALP_Sites.htm
• Wind map

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Turbine siting important

• Tower height
• Trees/other objects need to be at least 300 feet
  away

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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

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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

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Potential issues

• Zoning
• Varies by county, municipality
• Wildlife
• Noise
• Viewshed
• Transmission (big wind only)
• Difficult to find good information, independent
  testing

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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

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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