I blogged a while back about the pro and cons of wind and solar. I said I would write another blog about what is right for Michigan. Well I am not quite ready for that. But I am willing to show you some data that I have so far.
I have two project that I installed in the area one is a 2.4kw wind turbine and one 2.1kw solar system. Each project has their issues. The wind turbine gets no Northeast or East wind. The solar panels have some shadowing from the trees that are near them.
As you can see the sources are about the same size, kilowatt rating and the both have some issues not making them perfect.
Since the solar project has only been operational since January 16 of this year. It is not fair to make a quick judgement one way or another which is better just yet. I would like to see at least a years worth of data before I make the call which is better.
But what I do have is some data from Jan 16 for both units and you are going to be surprised.
The solar project since it has been installed has generated 421kWh since it was put into service.
The wind project from the same date to present has generated 328kWh.
The solar has out produced the wind by 93kWh or 22%. But keep in mind this has been a weird year so far especially for the month of March where we had a lot of sun which is very unusual for us. This is why I can not say one is better then the other yet. Once we have a years worth of data this will make it more true to life I believe.
The one thing that I am seeing in the numbers is that the sun is more consistant where the wind is not. But there are days that the wind has out produced the solar by a lot. Something that the solar will not be able to do because the wind can blow for 24 hours straight where the sun can not shine for 24 hours.
But stay tune I will keep you up to date as I get data throughout the next few months. You can follow the solar output here.
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3 comments:
I have been interested in renewable energy for at least 10+ years, but have not had the chance to act on the information I have found.
Here in N. Michigan, I really think that BOTH should have a part in a RE homestead. Like you stated in your posting, the sun can't shine for 24 hours, but the wind can blow. A balanced, multiple approach with an eye to reducing your power consumption, I believe, is the way to to.
Jim T
Your exactly correct. I truly believe that you need both systems to have a complete system. They complement each other wind and solar. When you have both systems they both don't have to be big systems, like if they were by their selves. Look at the systems I am getting the data from both together are less then 5kw.
that's really a fantastic post ! added to my favourite blogs list.. I have been reading your blog last couple of weeks and enjoy every bit. Thanks.
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