Where should I build my wind farm?

Question

I don't mean as in which state or anything. I mean what conditions should I look out for when I'm building it. Like, should I be concerned about earthquakes? Should I decide what kind of land I should build it on? Should it be near something?

Answer 1

The obvious answers are:

- "where it is windy"
- "not in my backyard" (NIMBY)

But seriously...

You are concerned about wind 200' to 300' in the air -- not at ground level. You're also interested in consistent wind. Wind farms run 24 x 365 so you're looking for total kWh output.

A wind farm will need a collector system to connect the turbines to the transmission grid. This will require either overhead poles or underground cable daisy-chaining the towers to one another. Locations in solid rock could make this collector system more expensive.

The wind farm is generally responsible for all of the costs associated with connecting to the transmission system. Each turbine is around 2.5 MW and a typical wind farm has 50+ turbines. That means you'll be connecting to a transmission line with more than 125 MW of capacity. Hopefully there is a nearby transmission line.

NIMBY is often a problem in obtaining the necessary permits. Remote locations may offer fewer objections.

Turbines have been blamed for the death of migratory birds. Siting a wind farm in a migratory bird flight path is bound to cause additional objections.

Answer 2

I'm glad to see someone is looking into wind for energy, look up the most windy states and there is your energy source, it's like building a damn without a river.... so obviously you need wind. A clear area is the best because those windmills will need it to operate....earthquakes?....why worry, the windmills are out in the middle of nowhere...should be anyhow. Use common sense. Good luck on your project!

Answer 3

Apart from the obvious like having enough wind one should be concerned about access for equipment to install the wind turbines, the design of foundations necessary and ideally a location which is not remote from end usage therefore minimising the expense of transmission cables.

Answer 4

First find land that is cheep, that is close to a city or a main line. Transmission lines are very expensive. There is lots of wind here in Idaho, but the price of power is cheaper. Ask your power company what price you can sell to them for.
Structurally the company that builds it can put it up just like any other building.
But most important of all you need wind!
Check out this awesome map--
http://rredc.nrel.gov/wind/pubs/atlas/maps/chap2/2-01m.html

Answer 5

first area of concern might be..is the wind farm in a location where there is enough wind to make the wind farm profitable