Home Wind Power – Start Living Green & Reduce Costs

In an age where sustainability and economic independence have never been of greater importance, more and more people are considering renewable energy sources to power their homes. Many are finding reduced dependence or indeed independence from the grid very satisfying, knowing the contribution they are making to the environment, whilst also seeing a positive impact on their energy costs. Being independent is empowerment, the monopoly on energy supply results in the accumulation of power within the hands of a few and this at the expense of the environment.

There is much vested interest among business for things stay as they are; for societies to remain as dependent on oil, coal and nuclear etc. as possible. Such an attitude is criminal. It has been clear for a long time now that this terrible dependence, amongst other issues, is costing us our planet and many people their health. The clean technology is out there and it must find a strong voice. Everyone can help to bring about increased recognition and general awareness regarding renewable energy.

These vested interests must be combated and nobody is too small to make a difference. If you want to change the world, start with yourself.  Every time a person becomes less dependent or independent from companies which sell electricity generated by means which damage our planet, this means diminished support for interests groups who put their own profits ahead of the future of our world. At the same time one is supporting renewable energy systems. The same goes for converting cars over to an Eco-friendly system. People save money and are not buying gas.

One simply doesn’t need to continue to pay and support greedy, selfish institutions, there are other options and it is not hard with a little conviction and determination. If you have a great renewable power solution at home and you’re subsequently generating more electricity than you need, you could actually sell the additional power back into the grid.

There are many ways one can go about becoming more independent from power companies, some being more effective than others. Home wind power and solar are undoubtedly the premier methods for people to start living off the grid. There is a growing awareness of wind as a powerful natural force which can be harnessed, converting the kinetic energy of the wind into electricity. At its most basic level, generating electricity from the wind is all about transferring energy from one medium to another. The fundamental design is as follows: the wind sets the turbine blades in motion and spins the shaft which connects the rotor to the generator. This rotational energy is then converted to electricity.

Some people tend to think of wind turbines only in the context of large wind farms, however wind turbines come in many sizes; the above scenario can be applied in a residential setting or within large scale commercial energy production. One advantage of wind turbines is that they are not restricted to generating power during the day, indeed they might very well produce more power at night, provided the wind picks up.

Please come check this site out from time to time as I continue to talk about renewable energy for your home.

As the urgency of climate change becomes more and more apparent, the implementation of renewable energy technologies has grown imperative.
In an effort to provide financial incentives for both the business and residential application of sustainable technologies  such as solar thermal energy and wind power, many governments around the world have introduced variations of the feed-in tariff scheme.

Basically, this scheme obligates electricity utilities to buy power from renewable sources at fixed, often above market rates (which can be structured to promote greater technology efficiency through stepped reductions in tariffs over an extended period of time). These rates normally represent a significant increase (often referred to as premium FIT) and can be up to 300% or more above the retail price for electricity. Such makes producing clean energy much more lucrative. A utility purchasing clean energy compensates for the cost of this energy by spreading the difference across all its customers. As a result, only a very small increase in the electricity price per person is required in order to deliver a significant incentive for the utilization of renewable energy technologies. Rates usually vary depending on what renewable energy technology is used, this being due to the difference in the cost of energy generation respective to the technology. The tariff is normally guaranteed for a duration of 10-20 years. Both the rate and the duration of a feed-in tariff provide a certainty to investors which lowers the market risk.

The system has been very successful in countries such as Germany and Spain, greatly stimulating the renewable energy sectors in those countries.  Renewable energy in Germany now accounts for around 15% of the nation’s energy. Of this renewable energy growth, more than half was supported by feed-in tariffs. This achievement has prompted several other countries around the world to introduce feed-in laws.
Among many other countries,  several states in the US have enacted feed-in laws and the UK is commencing its system of FITs in April 2010. In the  UK this is set to boost the lagging implementation of photovoltaic appliances.

It is clear that a good feed-in tariff system has the capacity to greatly boost the renewable energy sector in the country of implementation. This boost creates new infrastructure laying the framework for governments and businesses to continue investing in renewable technologies. A booming renewable energy industry, such as in Germany, creates very solid economic benefits.

In Germany, the economic benefits of renewable energy totaled more than 9 billion euro ($12.7 billion) in 2006, including:

• fuel-import savings of 0.9 billion euro ($1.27 billion)
• avoided environmental and health damages worth approximately 3.4 billion euro ($4.8 billion)
• A decline in wholesale electricity prices amounting to 5 billion euro ($7 billion).*Worldwatch Institute

Naturally the German government has invested heavily into the renewable energy industry; however the economic benefits are well able to compensate such investments. This will become even clearer as the long term benefits of a good renewable energy sector become more apparent. These would include future savings in relation to avoided environmental damages, indirectly avoided health damages, long term and stable employment, etc… The potential of renewable energy is very great, taking advantage of this potential is absolutely imperative. Any government must realise that growing a country’s renewable energy sector as quickly as possible is vital to becoming part of a better future. Our climate is changing, resources are dwindling – the longer the implementation of renewable technologies is delayed, the greater the cost to all.  The feed-in tariff scheme is a good initial step in this direction.

It is important that a FIT system is continually optimised in order to provide the best possible support to sustainable technologies, thus reflecting changing market conditions. The tariff must be high enough to make a real impact on market interest in clean technologies and the duration of a scheme must be sufficient to reduce market risk and encourage investment.

In 2008, a detailed report by the Commission of the European Communities found that “well-adapted feed in tariff regimes are generally the most efficient and effective support schemes for promoting renewable electricity.” In the European Union the promotion of wind energy, bio-gas and photovoltaic technologies has yielded the greatest success when supported with a feed-in tariff scheme.

In 2006, approximately 240,000 people were employed by Germany’s renewable energy sector. This represents a 40% increase over 2004. Such a trend is a good example highlighting the enormous contribution a FIT scheme can make; by greatly boosting the renewable energy sector it lays the foundation for hundreds of thousands of new and clean jobs.

In conclusion, feed-in tariffs can offer homes and businesses a great incentive for producing clean energy and consequently create significant environmental and economic benefits. It is crucial that renewable technologies create a strong appeal in the business world. The financial benefit of generating clean energy must reflect the genuine value of renewable technology. Just as homes and businesses are better off generating power sustainably, so it is for a country, for the planet.

There has been a significant shift concerning off-grid electrical generation over the last three years. An important contributing factor to this is the technology now enabling the feeding of electricity back to the grid. One advantage of this is that it removes the need for large, expensive battery back up systems, by using the utility for back up power.

There are now a number of government incentive programs rewarding the residential use of a wind turbine, this contributing to the economic viability of a wind power system both for small-scale and large-scale producers. These incentives include:

• Net metering has been introduced in many countries around the world, such as Australia, the United States and Canada. The specifics of the program vary from country to country, however in general net metering requires the electricity utility to buy excess power from the consumer at retail prices, rather than wholesale.
• This system rewards individuals and businesses for each kWh they produce past their own requirements. In such a case, one’s power meter will run backwards, sending the surplus of electricity to the power grid. Usually one will then receive credits for this excess electricity and if power from the utility is used during times of lessened home power generation, these credits count as payment towards the electricity used.
• Renewable energy credits apply to states which have implemented renewable energy quotas for power companies. This means power companies must buy up to a certain quota of their electricity from renewable sources. States that implement a “green energy credit program” allow a consumer to receive credits for each megawatt-hour of energy they produce from their sustainable systems. These credits are can be traded; they can be sold to conventional energy companies seeking to comply with their state or federal renewable energy quota.