Open AccessMain Coast Winds - Final Scientific Report
Author(s) -
Jason Huckaby,
Harley Lee
Publication year - 2006
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/877706
Subject(s) - wind power , restructuring , turbine , environmental science , grid , wind speed , meteorology , offshore wind power , marine engineering , engineering , business , geography , electrical engineering , mechanical engineering , geodesy , finance
The Maine Coast Wind Project was developed to investigate the cost-effectiveness of small, distributed wind systems on coastal sites in Maine. The restructuring of Maine's electric grid to support net metering allowed for the installation of small wind installations across the state (up to 100kW). The study performed adds insight to the difficulties of developing cost-effective distributed systems in coastal environments. The technical hurdles encountered with the chosen wind turbine, combined with the lower than expected wind speeds, did not provide a cost-effective return to make a distributed wind program economically feasible. While the turbine was accepted within the community, the low availability has been a negative