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Before deciding to install your own wind turbine, be sure to consider doing the following:

Step 1 - Decide how much energy you want to produce:

Are you looking to become an electricity generator or do you just want to have extra heat, backup electricity supply or live "off-the-grid"? If you own a farm then you may have a prime opportunity for a healthy sized wind project which will produce 10s of kilowatts (kW) to megawatts (MW) of electricity that can be profitably sold to your local hydro distribution company. If you're a landowner considering a wind project, OSEA's Landowner's Guide to Wind Energy is a great place to start.

If you simply want to generate backup or off-grid power, you should be aware that smaller turbines located on less windy sites cost $5-6 per watt to install, and generate electricity at a much higher cost per kilowatt hour than do larger turbines. The Canadian Wind Energy Association has a great website for help planning the small scale project, and Free Breeze also has a useful backgrounder on their website.

Step 2 - Match technology to your site:

Once you've determined how much wind energy you wish to generate, make sure you have enough clearance on your property for a turbine of a useful height. The clearance zone around any turbine should generally be a minimum of 1.5 times the turbine's total height (including blades). If you can't install a turbine that's at least 10m taller than everything else around it, then it's not likely to generate much electricity for you. That rule of thumb pretty much rules out city size lots in which a turbine would be sited closer than 50' from your house, neighbour's fence, mature trees, etc.

Step 3 - Check local zoning regulations:

Check with the local building department to ensure that you understand any restrictions your municipality has on the height or location of a wind turbine. These requirements vary among the townships in our region, and will likely depend on your zoning. Woolwich township, for example, currently has a moratorium on new wind installations. If you're thinking about a small turbine on your lot, then be aware that many of the smaller turbines (~20kW and smaller) can get quite noisy in high winds. Before you proceed with an installation, you may want to sound out your neighbours on your proposed project to avoid complaints later.

• Cambridge's Building Department: 519-740-4613
• Guelph's Building Department: 519-837-5615
• Kitchener's Building Department 519-741-2433
• Waterloo's Building Department: 519-886-1550
• Wellington's Building Department: 519-856-9596
• Wilmot's Building Department: 519-634-8444
• Woolwich's Building Department: 519-669-8706

Step 4 - Check the numbers:

The Ontario Wind Resource Atlas will give you an estimate of how much wind energy is available on your site. You can use the numbers from this atlas in programs like RETScreen to calculate a reasonable estimate of how much electricity you'll actually generate on your property, and how much money that could make for you. You can then use the expected revenue to verify important financial items like payback (in years) and return on investment ratios. To get a more accurate estimate of your wind resource, you may need to install an anemometer at the height where your wind turbine will be, and monitor wind speed and direction data for several months (preferably at least one year).

Step 5 - Check out installers and cost it out:

Get references and quotes from local suppliers, including Free Breeze, Natural Power Products and WAM Energy (Listowel, 519-356-2368). Smaller projects may want to take advantage of the Net Metering program, and larger projects will likely want to exploit the Standard Offer Program instead. For details on these programs as well as financing options, check our Costs and Incentives page.

Step 6 - Get your permits:

To get your wind project installed and producing electricity for distribution on the electricity grid, you'll likely need to obtain:

• A building permit will be required for wind energy projects over 3kW in rated size
• Depending on the scale of the project, an environmental assessment reviewing such issues as land use, visual impact, noise, impact on birds and bats, soil erosion, public health and safety and cultural and paleontological resources may be required. 
• A grid connection agreement: check with your local hydro company to determine what you'll need to do to connect your turbine to the electricity distribution grid and what meeting these requirements will cost. You'll need to be ready to get an electrical safety authority inspection if your project involves electricity generation, but your electrician will know how to get that for you. For those of you who like to do everything yourself, you'll likely need a licensed "master" electrician to help you if you want to pass the inspection; expect inspections of DIY projects to take longer and cost more.
• A standard offer contract from Hydro1 agreeing to purchase your electricity at $0.11 per kWh or a net-metering agreement which will allow you to obtain spot market pricing for electricity produced in excess of consumption.

Step 7 - Do your project!

If you've made it this far in the planning, here's the easy part. Review the technical and performance specifications of any turbine you're considering and consult with your preferred installer. Make sure your installer gets all the permits for you, reviews maintenance procedures, gives you a set of manuals and warranty info, and supplies you with emergency phone numbers for you to call (just in case something breaks and you don't know what to do).

Step 8 - Tell your story:

Tell your family, friends, neighbours, work-mates, and please tell us! We want to know about your project. We may even ask you if we can post a picture of it in our photo gallery. Please send us an email at wind@crewzone.ca.