Are There Financial Incentives?

While solar energy is reaping the benefits of increased federal, state, regional, and manufacturing incentives, wind energy is still struggling for support.

Production Tax Credit (PTC)

Recently extended by Congress through 2008, this federal incentive for wind power credits each kilowatt hour produced over the first 10 years of the wind turbine system’s life, but is not particularly useful for homeowners.

Net Metering

If you’re connected to the grid, your meter keeps track of how much power your system generates and how much you use. When your wind turbine system produces more electricity than you can use, that power is diverted to the public utility grid, and your meter spins backwards, as you are credited, at retail rates, for that power. As of December 2007, net metering is available in over 42 states and the District of Columbia.

Future Legislation

There are hopes for a future federal tax credit equal to 30% of the wind turbine cost up to $4,000, but this is still in the wait-and-see stages.

State Incentives

In late 2007, Congress passed a bill to help states provide grants and low-interest loans for residential wind turbine systems. Some states offer sizable rebates through regional energy commissions.

Manufacturer’s Rebates

As of 2007, there were 12 established residential wind turbine manufacturers in the United States.

What Size System Do I Need?

With a solar energy system, you can start small and add solar panels as space, needs, or your funds increase. But with wind turbine systems, homeowners generally install one tower and turbine and that’s it. Installing a wind turbine system one year and a second system a few years later is economically, physically, and often socially impractical.

The most cost-effective approach is to determine your household’s energy needs, your site’s wind resources, and the practicality of installing a wind turbine system. Then talk to professionals to decide what size system to buy and how high to mount it.