Not sure where to ask this. I'm looking into getting a wind turbine. The general state maps show me in a 'fair' area. I'm not far from the airport & FAA. Is there public access to their wind data say for the lst year (maybe more). I am hoping to get more accurate data to help me in my decision. Thanks for any help or pointing me in a better direction.
Bryan

I changed the wording of my google search and found what I needed: History : Weather Underground (http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KOKC)
Now anyone know the height of the wind gauge at the airport?

Oklahoma Wind Resource Map (http://www.okctalk.com/Oklahoma%20Wind%20Resource%20Map)

Wind Powering America (http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/astate_template.asp?stateab=ok)

Let us know if you end up getting a wind turbine. I'm very interested in the topic and would like to someday when I build a home.

I'm pretty sure 33ft is the official height for wind measurements.

I'm pretty sure 33ft is the official height for wind measurements.

I've hear that # before too. So close to actual turbine height of 39'.

I'll update after my site survey Sat. But I don't think it's makes economic sence for me now, using the airport data & the wind/enery chart of the turbine I'd avg 1200kWh/mo. Sadly being a large house (3000sqft with 10-12' cellings) and all elec including well, I avg 3000kWh/mo or more.
So unless my math was wrong it looks like it might be a while until it's more afordable.

So unless my math was wrong it looks like it might be a while until it's more affordable.The sad fact is, at this time, wind power is not economical for individual users.

The equipment costs too much and durability of equipment is a problem.

You will need to stay connected to the electric power grid.

Contrary to what many in the wind energy business would have you believe; you still need to buy all the required juice from the power company when your generator isn’t supplying the full amount of power needed at that time.

The power you get from the grid is sold to you at regular price and power from your generator doesn’t make the meter run backwards and isn’t subtracted from your bill. The power companies charge full price for the electric you use, but only buy the electric you put back into the grid at pennies on the dollar (or less!).

Power companies in Oklahoma usually charge a yearly fee to let you connect your wind charger to their grid.

Have you tried the OK Mesonet? Oklahoma Mesonet (http://www.mesonet.org/) These is a series of monitoring stations all across the state that gives real time and historical data on air temp, soil temp and moisture, rainfall, wind speed as well as other data. I believe there are 3 metro area stations as well as at least one in every county. We had the head of this come and talk to our gardening club once but it may give you the info you are needing.

The sad fact is, at this time, wind power is not economical for individual users.

The equipment costs too much and durability of equipment is a problem.

You will need to stay connected to the electric power grid.

The system I'm looking at is a 5kW, and priced at about $18-25k installed, states a 20yr warrenty (is it really I don't know yet) so a 20yr lifespan.
I agree prices are still high, and hopefully competition & advancement will bring those down


Contrary to what many in the wind energy business would have you believe; you still need to buy all the required juice from the power company when your generator isn’t supplying the full amount of power needed at that time.

True, unless you get a system capable of producing and/or storeing 100% or more of what you use, you need to stay on the grid. That system would cost more than my house did :(


The power you get from the grid is sold to you at regular price and power from your generator doesn’t make the meter run backwards and isn’t subtracted from your bill. The power companies charge full price for the electric you use, but only buy the electric you put back into the grid at pennies on the dollar (or less!).

Power companies in Oklahoma usually charge a yearly fee to let you connect your wind charger to their grid.

Not with NetMetering, which I think by law all OK companies have to allow.
Here is from OEC's website:

Net metering allows your electric meter to turn backwards (or count backwards with a digital meter) when your generator produces more energy than you are currently using. For example, let’s say your DG system produces 1000 kWh and your residence uses 1800 kWh in a given month. When OEC reads your meter, the usage will only show you used 800 kWh. Therefore, the bill you receive the following month will only be for 800 kWh. If your DG system produced your full usage of 1800 kWh, OEC will only bill you the customer charge, currently $11.90 per month for residential accounts. In short, Net Metering means OEC essentially buys back power from you at the retail rate as long as you don’t produce more power than you use in a month.

Not with NetMetering, which I think by law all OK companies have to allow.
Here is from OEC's website:
Net metering allows your electric meter to turn backwards (or count backwards with a digital meter) when your generator produces more energy than you are currently using. For example, let’s say your DG system produces 1000 kWh and your residence uses 1800 kWh in a given month. When OEC reads your meter, the usage will only show you used 800 kWh. Therefore, the bill you receive the following month will only be for 800 kWh. If your DG system produced your full usage of 1800 kWh, OEC will only bill you the customer charge, currently $11.90 per month for residential accounts. In short, Net Metering means OEC essentially buys back power from you at the retail rate as long as you don’t produce more power than you use in a month. They worded that to make it sound like the system works different than it really does. If you look at what the bottom line is...they say the same thing I said.

They way they said it:
Total monthly use 1800 kWh
Wind gen produced 1000 kWh
Electric Co charges you retail rate for 800 kWh

The way I said it:
Total monthly use 1800 kWh
Wind gen produced 1000 kWh
Electric Co charges you retail rate for 800 kWh

They didn’t address the crucial point of how they actually assess your wind system production when it is only producing partial power needed at a given time. Usually the generator needs to produce all the energy needed at a given time to be used by your house electric system. When it’s connected and it’s the only source of power connected to the house, it isn’t making the meter run backwards; the meter is simply stopped because you aren’t using power from the electric company grid. With most systems partial power doesn’t count towards anything unless it goes into a special and expensive regulating battery system.
Their wording also glosses over the fact that they pay almost nothing for wind power produced over the amount of monthly usage with this statement, “OEC essentially buys back power from you at the retail rate as long as you don’t produce more power than you use in a month.”

They also seem to have left out any mention of the extra monthly charge for connecting your wind generator to their grid.

If your house is using electricity below what you produce, like on a nice day when no air conditioning is running, other things are turned off and your wind or solar system is producing power, your meter will run backwards. Then when you are using more power than your system produces it runs forwards to meter only what you use over what you are producing. If you are not producing any electricity, it all comes from the grid and all your use is metered in favor of the utility. But yes, most people size their systems such that they still use more power than they produce and pay for the net overage. Thus, net metering, you pay the full rate for whatever you use over what you produce. There is no hocus pocus they got cha coming and going.


Utilities are not allowed to impose extra charges for customers signed up for net metering, nor are they allowed to require new liability insurance as a condition for interconnection. Utilities are also not required to purchase net excess generation (NEG) from customers. However, a customer may request that the utility purchase NEG. In the utility agrees, then NEG will be purchased at the utility's avoided-cost rate.

DSIRE: Summary Tables: Net Metering for Energy Efficiency (http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/tabsrch.cfm?state=OK&type=Net&back=regtab&Sector=S&CurrentPageID=7&EE=1&RE=1)


Currently strict payback is the last reason to consider renewables. Buying dirty grid power that mosty comes from burning fossel fuels and contrbutes to pollution, destruction to the environment and global warming is far eaisier and cheaper. Yes, I'm still doing it too.