We were blown away to find out that Chicago—America’s much-hyped Windy City—actually is far from the breeziest city in the nation. That dubious honor has been awarded to Boston, in a recent study of wind power resources by Kestrel Renewable Energy, a South Africa-based developer of small turbines.
With wind power available in almost all 50 states—at an average speed of 13.5 feet per second—there are no shortage of U.S. sites for the Kestrel e400nb, which the company claims, “is ideal for the [market] due to its size and affordability,” noting that, “Teamed with its durability, it can withstand high wind speeds (of 156 miles per hour)” and already has a number of successful deployments in America. The Kestrel turbine can produce 3,930 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually,
Kestrel ranks the Top 10 windiest cities (based on average annual wind speed) as follows:
- Boston, Massachusetts (12.3 miles per hour)
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (12.2 mph)
- Buffalo, New York (11.8 mph)
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin (11.5 mph)
- Dallas, Texas (10.7 mph)
- Kansas City, Missouri (10.6 mph)
- San Francisco, California (10.6 mph)
- Cleveland, Ohio (10.5 mph) , Minneapolis, Minnesota (10.5 mph), Virginia Beach, Virginia (10.5 mph), Providence, Rhode Island (10.4 mph)
- Chicago, Illinois (10.3 mph)
- Detroit, Michigan (10.2 mph)
Indeed, the nation has vast wind power resources, and U.S. government reports predict that 20 percent of electricity will be wind produced by 2030. “Solid returns from renewable energy, new technology and improved government incentives, makes it easier to become less reliant on fossil fuels,” commented Kestrel Director Leon Gouws, adding, “The U.S. government’s commitment to renewable energy and the certification process means people can support this vision, with knowledge that their turbine is robust enough to withstand the toughest of winds, and is reliable to ensure consistent energy production.
There’s great community support for developing small wind power, and the latest small wind turbine to be approved by the Small Wind Certification Council (SWCC) and achieve American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) approval for state incentives is the Kestrel e400nb.
Edited by Jamie Epstein