Finally, after decades of effort, the American Wind Energy Association has established performance and safety standards for small wind turbines.
Why it took so long and why it followed the British standard for small turbines and the international standard for large turbines is a story best told in a book length treatment by some future historian.
But they finally did it.
See AWEA Small Wind Turbine Performance and Safety Standard.
For some background on the issue, see Testing the Power Curves of Small Wind Turbines
Some comments on a version of the standards proposed a decade ago–yes, a decade ago, see Comments on a Proposed Performance Standard for Small Wind Turbines.
Performance standards include more than the measurement and publication of standardized power curves. Standards also include measurement and reporting of noise emissions from small wind turbines. See Noise from Small Wind Turbines: An Unaddressed Issue.
Though I’ve been asked to be a part of the Small Wind Certification Council, I’ve chosen not to do so. See Why I Have Chosen Not to Be on the Small Wind Certification Council.
