Wind Energy

Kentucky homeowners and small businesses may find it economically advantageous to use wind power if they have a site where the average wind speeds are strong enough. An ideal site for a wind generator is 20 feet above any surrounding objects within a 250 foot radius, with average wind speeds of at least 9 miles per hour. Steady wind is better than gusty conditions because a small difference in wind speed has a major effect on the amount of wind power available.

In general, Kentucky has low wind speeds and therefore, limited wind energy potential. However, there may be specific sites and applications where wind is a cost-effective option.

AWS Truewind was contracted to complete a high resolution wind map of Kentucky in 2008 (Final Report, 249kB PDF). Wind speed values on a 2.5 km grid are available for free from the windNavigator Leaving .gov domain website hosted by AWS Truewind. For GIS users, the raw data using 200 m spacing can be found at the Kentucky Geography Network; keyword search "mesomap".

Education

How Wind Turbines Work

A U.S. Consumer's Guide: Small Wind Electric Systems (PDF 1.4MB)

Site Evaluation

Evaluating a Potential Small Wind Turbine Site
Consumer information for home and business wind energy systems.

Wind Energy Siting Handbook Leaving .gov domain
Developed by the American Wind Energy Association to inform wind energy developers about environmental siting issues relevant to land-based commercial-scale wind energy projects.

Resources

American Wind Energy Association Leaving .gov domain
AWEA is a national trade association that promotes wind energy as a clean source of electricity.

National Wind Technology Center
NWTC, managed by the U.S. Department of Energy, works to advance wind power technologies and lower the cost of wind energy.

Green Energy Ohio Leaving .gov domain
Learn more about successful wind projects and wind activities in our region at the GEO website.

Windustry Leaving .gov domain
Don't Know Where to Start? Windustry is a non-profit organization working to increase wind energy opportunities for rural landowners and communities by providing technical support and creating tools for analysis.

Note: Some documents above are in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) format. Please click on the following link to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader. External Link - You are now leaving the .gov domain.

	KY Wind Maps
	Wind Power Density at 100 meters (PDF 3.2Mb) Wind Power Density at 50 meters (PDF 3.2Mb)

	Did You Know?
	Credit: Ohio Office of Energy Efficiency (DOE/NREL) Wind is the movement of air caused by changes in local air pressure that arises from the unequal heating of the atmosphere by the sun. In this sense, wind power is an indirect form of solar energy. Kentucky joins U.S. Governor's Wind Energy Coalition. More... In 2007, the majority of new electricity generation in the U.S. came from wind energy. More...

Last Updated 5/8/2009

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