Small Wind Guide for Washington

2009 WA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Wind Power Guidelines

Wind Powering America - a federal program

Wind Power Resource Map

Federal small wind tax credit – Under U.S. Federal law – a federal investment tax credit is available for consumers who purchase small wind turbines for home, farm, or business use. Owners of small wind systems with 100 kilowatts (kW) of capacity and less can receive a credit for 30 percent of the total installed cost of the system, not to exceed $4,000.  For home utilized turbines, the credit is additionally limited to the lesser of $4,000 or $1,000 per kW of capacity. This is for equipment installed between October 3, 2008 through December 31, 2016.

Small wind turbines – Are usually defined as having capacities rated at 100 kilowatts or less.

Net metering is an electricity policy for consumers who own, generally small, renewable energy facilities, such as wind or solar power. "Net" in this case is the deduction of any energy outflows from metered energy inflows. Under net metering, a system owner receives retail credit for at least a portion of the electricity they generate. The ideal has your existing electricity meter spinning backwards, effectively banking excess electricity production for future credit. In reality, the rules vary significantly by country, state, or province; if net metering is available, if you can bank credits, how long you can keep your banked credits, how much the credits are worth, and so on.

Small Wind Information

Permitting Small Wind Turbines: A Handbook (AWEA - awea.org)

Emerging Renewables Program Guidebook, Ninth Edition (California - Final Guidebook, Pub# CEC-300-2009-002-F)

California Guidelines for Reducing Impacts to Birds and Bats from Wind Energy Development (Pub# CEC-700-2007-008-CMF)