Wind energy is an excellent alternative to a solar power system. In many places, when the sun is not shining, the wind is usually blowing. Wind power is very helpful in the winter to capture both the gentle and ferocious mountain winds when there is less sunlight but in need of high power. Wind power is not suitable as the only source of power in many locations. It is just used to fill in the gaps when sunlight is not enough to produce electricity.
It is not that difficult to make a wind generator by yourself. You will need some basic hand tools and power tools, with some degree of dedication. We define wind generators of 2000watts as large generator and 700-100 as small generators. Large generators requires very strong construction and small generators can be built easily. We highly recommend that you try to build a small wind turbine before even thinking about building a large one. You will need to cut and weld steel, and a metal lathe should be needed.(however you can hire a machine shop to do some steps for you)
In most locations, strong winds very rare while GENTLE winds (5-15 mph) are the most common. It is best to make large, sturdy wind turbines that produce good power even in low wind speeds, and are able to survive high wind events while still producing maximum power. The power available in the wind goes up by a factor of 8 when the speed of the wind doubles.
Other important factors are rotor size and tower height. The power a wind turbine can produce goes up by at least a factor of 4 as you double the rotor size. And making a tower higher gets you above turbulence for better performance and substantially increased the power output. Putting a wind turbine on a short tower is just like putting solar panels in the shade!
