Hi everyone, I'm out here in southern California and am looking to invest in the wind/electricity industry. Palm Springs is about half an hour away and I was wondering if any of those turbines can be privately owned (1 to 5). I haven't had any luck on google or with my local realtor. Your help would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!

Hello Daniel. I can help you. My name is Daniel also, and you can email me at this address: mydanielmckeown8008@gmail.com . I happen to know of an avenue where you can invest in specific parts of projects and thus "own" the wind generators. Contact me and we can discuss.

Daniel, it is possible to privately own wind turbines, but it is difficult for me to say whether the turbines you mention are feasible. The most common form of private ownership are small wind systems used to supplement your current electrical demand. Good examples are single wind turbines found on farms and rural localities.

The larger turbines you see are usually part of "wind farms" and are typically owned by development firms and utilities. These turbines are larger in size and can provide power for a significantly larger population.

Depending on your electrical demand and wind resource access, there are several options you can choose from. One option is a community-owned project where interested landowners would pool resources and develop a smaller project (less than 20 MW.) These projects have shown be be very successful, invigorating rural economies.

I suggest that you check out Windustry's Community Wind Toolbox located at www.windustry.org/CommunityWindToolbox where you can find a good introduction into possible ownership options. Also, the American Wind Energy Association's (AWEA) small wind page has some valuable information. It can be found at www.awea.org/smallwind

Cheers!

Dan
www.windustry.org
dan@fwindustry.org