Appalachian State University has partnered with the North Carolina State Energy Office to educate residents on wind energy production and provide them with necessary tools to produce the alternative energy.

ASU’s Small Wind Initiative (SWI), led by Professor Dennis Scanlin, Ph.D., is also supported by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and several wind measurement and small wind turbine manufacturing companies, including Jacobs, Bergey, Southwest Windpower and African Wind Turbines. The SWI is demonstrating and evaluating small, residential or farm scale wind turbine technology in the Appalachian mountain region and providing interested groups, individuals, electric utilities and the general public with advice and information about small wind technology through a variety of educational programs and consulting services, including "hands on" installation workshops led by some of the nations leading experts and companies.

Dr. Scanlin wrote a proposal for the Small Wind Initiative in 2004, but the program has roots dating back to 2001. "Back in the fall of 2001, I got a call from Larry Shirley, the director of the North Carolina Alternative Energy Office," Scanlin recalls. "He asked me to do a feasibility study of large wind turbines in western North Carolina. Then TVA asked me to help them with wind assessment work in the southern Appalachian region. When we began wind mapping work and documenting resources, we realized we have outstanding wind resources, but there were also lower wind speeds that are more suitable to small-scale technology and suitable for hands-on education at ASU. So we formed the Anemometer Loan Program and out of that grew the Small Wind proposal."

The North Carolina Anemometer Loan Program (ALP), one of the first programs of its kind in the country, works with property owners to install free wind measurement equipment at potentially good wind sites for one year. According to Cole McVey, SWI’s former outreach coordinator who is now employed by a nonprofit wind energy organization, the ALP enables the Small Wind Initiative to verify wind maps created with GIS technology, which identify appropriate windy sites in North Carolina. According to the maps, some high-elevation ridges in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee are class 5-7 wind sites (seven is the highest rating in the scale). The ALP also allows ASU’s undergraduate and graduate researchers to give real statistics to property owners interested in producing wind energy. "Those are both really important things to do in the Southern Appalachian region because of the topography here. It’s much more site specific," McVey says. The program enables students to have hands-on experience that is valuable to employers, something Dr. Scanlin is conscious of providing. Although he has spent the last 30 years researching alternative energy, Scanlin’s bachelor’s degree in Technology Education, Master’s in Curriculum and Ph.D. in Education highlight his interest in teaching students foremost.

In May 2004, TVA loaned Dr. Scanlin six wind turbines, which the SWI installed on Beech Mountain, North Carolina, a high class-5 or low class-6 wind site. Students have been collecting data from the turbines since then. Scanlin says, "A 20 kilowatt machine is now the largest at our wind site. We estimate this could produce enough energy for six American homes." The SWI sells electrons produced at Beech Mountain to Mountain Electric Cooperative out of Mountain City, Tennessee and to TVA’s Green Switch program for $.15 per kilowatt hour.

"Undergraduate and graduate students are involved in all aspects of construction and maintenance of the turbines, analyzing data and developing reports," Scanlin says. "One graduate student runs the Anemometer Loan Program and another manages the site on Beech Mountain."

In 2005, three individuals installed small-scale wind turbines on their properties after participating in SWI workshops. One installed an 18.5 kilowatt turbine, which completely powers his home. The two others have installed smaller turbines that provide one-third to one-half of their power needs, the rest being produced by traditional means. "We’re only a year into the project and we hope we’ll see a greater amount of adoption," Dr. Scanlin says. "There’s still legal issues and permitting procedures."

Other problems have stemmed from the fact that this is a relatively new technology for all parties involved. "We’ve had problems, some related to experience," Dr. Scanlin admits. "Some related to bad luck with extreme weather and the inexperience of utility companies in connecting to independent producers. But we’ve learned from that and the (manufacturing) companies have redesigned components to handle heavy winds."

Despite the slow start, Dr. Scanlin is confident the program proves wind energy is a practical alternative. Avian impact, an issue that’s often cited as a major obstacle to the viability of wind energy, has not been an issue. After receiving detailed training from a member of the Audubon Society, SWI researchers performed carcass searches once a week from April 14 through May 20, 2005 (peak migration times) and found no birds during any of the "sweeps."

"We’re demonstrating that these turbines will work and, hopefully, helping people move closer to adopting the technology," Dr. Scanlin says. This year, Scanlin plans to continue to operate the ALP and workshop series, in addition to testing more turbines throughout the region and maintaining the six on Beech Mountain. "We should be able to generate 60,000 to 70,000 kilowatt-hours per year," he says. With its tremendous wind resources and the Small Wind Initiative’s commitment to spreading this technology, the Appalachian region appears to be situated at the forefront of the emerging small-scale wind technology.

ASU’s Small Wind Initiative is hosting several hands-on workshops from April through October 2006. For more information visit wind.appstate.edu or see page 11 of this handbook.