Excerpt from the Fourth Quarter 2013 edition of the Wind Program R&D Newsletter.
Wind Energy Technologies Office
January 6, 2014
minute read time
This is an excerpt from the Fourth Quarter 2013 edition of the Wind Program R&D Newsletter.
According to the 2012 Market Report on Wind Technologies in Distributed Applications published by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 2013, by the end of 2012, 32 small wind turbine suppliers reported sales of 57 models of wind turbines in the United States. While this market growth is providing U.S. consumers with a wide variety of small wind turbine models to choose from, until recently, they had no systematic way to verify the performance, sound level, safety functions, or structural design of a particular model of wind turbine.
In response to this need, the DOE Wind Program supported the development of technical standards that can be used to test small wind turbines and launched an independent small wind testing program conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at the National Wind Technology Center in Colorado. The program also supported the creation of four small wind turbine regional testing centers (RTCs) located in Utah, Texas, Kansas, and New York, and the establishment of the Small Wind Certification Council (SWCC). The SWCC provides accredited third-party verification of the test results in accordance with internationally adopted technical standards for testing. These organizations provide wind turbine buyers with reliable safety, acoustic, and performance data and provide wind turbine sellers with the capacity to demonstrate compliance with regulatory and incentive program requirements.
Since the standards and test centers were established, 13 small wind turbine models have been certified to the U.S. industry standard by accredited certification bodies. This progress signals a maturing industry and that the DOE Wind Program is on track to reach its goal of certifying 40 turbine models by 2020. The SWCC has also issued active provisional certifications for two more models, and three models tested and analyzed in the United Kingdom (UK) have applied for SWCC certification. In addition, Intertek completed testing of two additional turbine models to the American Wind Energy Association standard and has issued certificates for the UK Microgeneration Certification Scheme for three others.
| Applicant | Turbine | Rated Annual Energy1 @ 5 m/s | Rated Sound Level2 | Rated Power3 @ 11 m/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergey Windpower | Excel 6 | 9,920 kWh | 47.2 dB(A) | 5.5 kW |
| Bergey Windpower | Excel 10 | 13,800 kWh | 42.9 dB(A) | 8.9 kW |
| Endurance Wind Power Inc. | Endurance S-343 | 8,910 kWh | 46.6 dB(A) | 5.4 kW |
| Evance Wind Turbines Ltd. | Evance R9000 | 9,160 kWh | 45.6 dB(A) | 4.7 kW |
| Eveready Diversified Products Ltd. | Kestrel e400nb | 3,930 kWh | 55.6 dB(A) | 2.5 kW |
| Kingspan Environmental | KW6 | 8,950 kWh | 43.1 dB(A) | 5.2 kW |
| Osiris Technologies | Osiris 10 | 23,700 kWh | 49.4 dB(A) | 9.8 kW |
| Sonkyo Energy | Windspot 3.5 | 4,820 kWh | 39.1 dB(A) | 3.2 kW |
| Sumec Hardware & Tools Co., LTD | PWB01-30-48 | 2,920 kWh | 41.1 dB(A) | 1.2 kW |
| Sumec Hardware & Tools Co., LTD | PWB01-40-48 | 4,660 kWh | 36.9 dB(A) | 1.7 kW |
| Sumec Hardware & Tools Co., LTD | PWA03-44-250 | 6,400 kWh | 40.9 dB(A) | 3.2 KW |
| Sumec Hardware & Tools Co., LTD | PWA05-50-280 | 9,240 kWh | 42.0 dB(A) | 5.0 kW |
| Xzeres Wind Corporation | Skystream 3.7 | 3,420 kWh | 41.2 dB(A) | 2.1 kW |
1Estimated annual energy production on assuming an annual average wind speed of 5 m/s (11.2 mph), a Rayleigh wind speed distribution, sea-level air density, and 100% availability. Actual production will vary depending on site conditions.
2The sound level that will not be exceeded 95% of the time, assuming an annual average wind speed of 5 m/s, a Rayleigh wind speed distribution, sea-level air density, 100% availability and an observer location on 60 m from the rotor center.
3The wind turbine power output at 11 m/s (24.6 mph) at standard sea-level conditions.