This website has been created to chronicle the building of my 17' diameter wind turbine.

  

Background...
In the fall of 1999 I moved to a rural area of West Virginia, named Terra Alta (high earth). To be honest we live at the *top* of Terra Alta, our house is at an altitude of 3000' where we have a panoramic view of about 270 degrees for up to50 miles!

Besides the wonderful view we also have wind, lots of wind!

So why not harness some of this to generate our own electrical power?

Typically I research the heck out of stuff, and this project is no exception! There is one website that I have found to be *the most* informative site (OtherPower). I have decided to build a wind turbine that closely resembles their 17' diameter unit, the main changes that I will be making is some slight modifications to 'beef' up the metal structure in a couple of places, otherwise it will be the same. This turbine is of the axial flux design. I want to output 2-3kwh in a 20mph wind and have found that this one should suit my needs.

Post note: they have redesigned and rebuilt their 17' turbine and it now is capable of putting more power! The structure of it closely resembles their larger 20' wind turbine.

Some good informative reading "The Bottom Line About Wind Turbines", this is a good place to start out to help you determine if a wind turbine would suit your needs.

Commercial Possibilities...
There are more and more commercial business that are involved with 'green' power'. If you have any doubts in your abilities to make your own wind turbine then either seek out a workshop (the guys at OtherPower.com have them) or purchase a commercially available unit. Many wind turbines are now available that output anywhere between 400-3.5kwh, with price and size being the major differences.

Roll your own...
I made the choice to make my own wind turbine. There were a number of factors that influenced this decision: 1) I have the skill sets 2) I have the tools 3) I have the desire 4) No tax incentives are in place to entice me into purchasing a commercial unit.
The fourth reason was probably the major item that helped me with my decision. For the type of power output that I was desiring the average cost for a commercially manufactured was between $6,000-8,000. I knew that for under $1,500 I could purchase all the items and build my own. Had there been federal/state tax credits that would have helped offset the initial investment, I would have gone that route.
The tower is another matter - I will not be building my own and am currently searching for a suitably strong - hopefully guy less free-standing tower, either monopole or lattice design. What money I save in the wind turbine will help offset the tower costs.
Disclaimer..
I am not a structural nor design engineer, the methods, tools, diagrams used/shown/discussed within this website are what I used building my own wind turbine, and as such warranty nothing. Use your own common sense when building yours and if in doubt see a professional.
It's Flying - Some Pictures..
After all of my hard work the wind turbine is on top of the tower and operational.
Click on a picture to see larger image: