Income, Benefits and other Funding Possible for a Small Wind Turbine for Farm or Small Business Use:

Example system: Jacobs 31-20 Wind Turbine with the UL 1741 inverter on a 120’ Lattice Steel Tower at an average cost of $80,000 (completely installed price).

Net Metering: In MN, your Power Company must pay Average Retail metering rate for electricity that you sell back to them, see www.dsireusa.org. On average, a Jacobs 31-20 pays for itself within 5-10 years but can produce for decades.

Wind Speed-Power Produced (Annual estimates, based on 2009 rates of .10/kWh)
11 mph average wind will produce 15,000 kWhs per year-$1,500
12 mph average wind will produce 21,000 KWhs per year-$2,100
13 mph average wind will produce 29,000 kWhs per year-$2,900
14 mph average wind will produce 39,000 kWhs per year-$3,900
15 mph average wind will produce 50,000 kWhs per year-$5,000

2. MACRS Depreciation: Rapid Tax Deduction

MACRS Depreciation (Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System) for businesses and farms: A Wind Turbine installation can be rapidly depreciated (deducted from taxes) within the first 5 years under the Federal MACRS program (see www.dsireusa.org).

3. Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for either residential or businesses:

For Business: The credit is equal to 30% of expenditures, with no maximum credit for small wind turbines placed in service after December 31, 2008. Eligible small wind property includes wind turbines up to 100 kW in capacity. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is the recent source for this major incentive for small wind turbines.
For Residential: A taxpayer may claim a credit of 30% of qualified expenditures for a system that serves a dwelling unit located in the United States and used as a residence by the taxpayer. Expenditures with respect to the equipment are treated as made when the installation is completed. The home served by the system does not have to be the taxpayer’s principal residence. Details on the credits and other details for either commercial or residential are outlined at www.dsireusa.org. Click on Federal Incentives.

4. Federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) for businesses and farms: This credit only applies if one does not take the Investment Tax Credit (ITC). The PTC is paid annually from your meter reading at a rate of $.02/Kwh each year. Send in IRS tax forms # 3500 & # 8835 with your tax return.

5. Tower Antenna Leasing: With the growth of wireless communications, cell phones, Internet, local radio and GPS based technologies; antennas are needed in certain areas. If you own a tower, you can lease space or negotiate an arrangement with other wireless carriers. Tower owners can earn up to several thousand dollars/year. WERC is researching several markets for tower leasing for combo wind and communications services (in certain areas only, please inquire).

6. Tax Exemptions: Small Wind Turbines (and Solar) are exempt from Sales Tax in many states. They are also exempt from Property Taxes (a wind turbine system increases the value of your property by $80,000, but will cause no property tax increase).

7. Education, Training, Sponsors: Tower owners can generate revenues from grants, sponsors or advertisers. With the growing interest in Wind Power, more people want to learn the trade and business. Vo-Tech Schools, Colleges, High Schools and Learning Centers may adopt your turbine for education, certifications, training programs, research (monitor wind & weather data via Internet). This creates opportunities for you to get sponsors for your turbine.

8. Grants: Funds are available from various sources including your local power company, USDA, state or regional foundations, state government or Federal government. A popular grant for a farm or rural small business is the USDA (9006 Clean Energy Farm Bill), see www.farmenergy.org) or contact us for more information. WERC has been successfully awarded 25 out of 27 applications to date. Contact WERC for your grant writing solutions.

9. Future Incentive: Feed-In Tariff: Proposed in several states, this fund would pay from $0.25 / kWh to $0.30 / kWhfor small wind turbines (up to $.60/kWh for Solar).

10. Future Incentive: Green Credits: Carbon Tax is required to be paid by big businesses for polluting the air. Current pricing is from 2 to 3 cents per kWh, but no firm rules or laws yet govern this incentive. Contact us and visit www.dsireusa.org for updates.

Call 1-218-764-2321 - Fax: 218-764-3582 - E-mail

WERC, 9121 CR 23, Brainerd, MN 56401