In Nevada there is a lot of area that is great for solar panelsbut it there enough wind for a wind turbine to help with your domestic electric use in the winter?

Answer 1

Wind turbine technology is coming up with new developments and new designs like helical wind turbines to produce electricity even in low speed winds.

Wind, with current technology, will not produce enough power to replace the power used to make a wind system. There are a few smaller systems that can become energy neutral.

I was at a Marina that just installed 8 1.2KWH units to generate wind power. They found that the wind there produces enough power to light three or four bulbs. Te investment was hundreds of thousands.

The problem is that the wind systems are measured at a speed of 28 mph. If the wind goes above 32 mph the systems shut down (no power). If the wind goes down to 14 mph you get 10% of rated power. Bottom line is that most wind systems normally put out only a tiny fraction of what papers and companies claim they do.

The problem with solar in Nevada is the heat issue. Panels degrade in heat and do not produce as well. Nevada will eat the solar panels in a decade or so. Solar panels normally produce 80% of rated power for a few hours each day. Bottom ine is that we need power that is consistent, not flaky, like both of these are.