New Book: SMALL WIND, Planning and Building Successful Installations

SMALL WIND, Planning and Building Successful Installations is a new book written by R. Nolan Clark to provide a cohesive guide to achieving successful installations of wind systems that are less than 100 kW in size.  The wind industry has grown to the point that there are different focuses and needs for the various segments that depend on the size and potential use of the wind power generated.  Most small wind machines are connected on the user side of the electric meter rather than to the main grid lines as with larger machines and thus has different requirements, regulations, and management issues.  Other small machines are operated totally independent of the electrical grid and have another set of requirements and management issues. This book addresses these small wind system issues and focuses on what many people consider the two main concerns that cause installation to be unsuccessful or low performers.  Site selection is one of the items that cause many good machines to perform poorly.  Small Wind:  Planning and Building Successful Installations gives detailed information about selecting an optimum site for a wind turbine, including selecting the right tower height for the location.  Having the wind turbine in the right location to harvest the wind resource is of upmost importance.

Secondly, methods for selecting the right equipment to meet the anticipated loads are also provided.  Information is provided for meeting loads for grid connected systems depending on the type of interconnection contract that is available and suggestions how to manage the loads to better match the wind resources are given.  Now that small wind certification reports are available for many small machines, information is given how to use these reports to select machines that are reliable, have low noise, and measured performance.

Information is given on what is required to install a small wind machine including permitting, interconnection contracts, foundations, and contracting with installers.  Information is also included about what is required after the machine is installed and how to manage and maintain the machine for a long life and achieving the best possible energy production.

Small Wind:  Planning and Building Successful Installations is written for engineers who are called upon to plan small wind projects and foundations.  It identifies and explains the critical issues for small wind installations, including siting, turbine choice, applications and permitting, economics, load management and grid integration.  It would also be useful to dealers and installers to use with knowledgeable customers to guide them through the planning and building phases of a project.

R. Nolan Clark has worked as researcher and development engineer in the wind industry for 35 years and has had extensive experience in operating small wind machines for many applications including grid connected machines, remote water pumping systems, and wind-diesel systems.  Much of his work was funded by the US Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy.  He currently is a small wind systems consultant and is a certification commissioner with the Small Wind Certification Council.

The book is published by Elsevier Publishers and is available in hardback printed copies or in an electronic version.  The ISBN No. is 978-0-12-385999-0.  The list price is $79.95.