As long as the wind is blowing, you can find an excellent way to harness it. The wind has been a source of power for quite some time in some countries such as the US. If you have land, finance, and technical capacity, an industrial supplier can supply you with the turbines you need to start your wind farm. However, before building your farm, you need to know the processes that you should follow. This article gives you the steps of starting your wind farm.
- Know Your Site’s Wind Resource
Before you think about setting up your wind farm, you want to ensure you understand your wind resource. Your farm needs to receive 1113 mph average annual wind speed to generate power. You can get these averages from local weather data that’s available in meteorological stations and airports, checking wind maps for your state, or installing monitoring devices to record the features of the wind.
- The Distance of Your Farm From Transmission Lines
If your farm is near transmission lines, you’ll save a lot of money, which is needed to build transmission infrastructure. High-voltage lines may costs you thousands of dollars to install. It’s, therefore, best to make your wind farm where you can access transmission lines.
- Access to Land
If you don’t have land to build a wind farm, you’ll have to hire one. Public and private landowners expect you to compensate them for any wind energy project you set up on their land. Before acquiring the ground, you’ll have to discuss lease or royalty agreements with the relevant parties, ensure that the infrastructure is maintained, and ensure there are roads to support the transportation of transmission equipment. Wind farm construction equipment is heavy, so you need to confirm that the roads to the site can handle their weight.
- Financial Stability
Constructing a wind farm is expensive. You need about $40 million to invest in this project. Ensure that you have the money required to fund the project to completion.
- Finding a Power Market
Though most people may prefer buying wind energy because it’s cheap, you need a site where you can find customers. Currently, wind energy is one of the most cost-effective sources of energy that most people would like to purchase. As a developer, you should secure commitments from buyers over the operational period of your farm.
- Conduct a Feasibility Test
Just because a site is windy doesn’t make it suitable to construct a wind farm. There are social and environmental issues that you may need to address as a developer. It would help if you found out whether there are endangered species jeopardized by the farm’s presence. The site also needs to be geologically suitable and appropriate for industrial development. Conducting a feasibility test will help you be compliant with the government’s regulations and consider the life of the local community.
The Bottom-line
Constructing your wind farm can be a significant investment. Wind power is a renewable source of energy, and most people are opting for it over the other sources of electricity. However, before starting construction, ensure you follow the appropriate steps
