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Texas Renewable Energy Incentives

Energy Policy Act of 2005 Tax Credits
Several articles on the Energy Policy Act of 2005 Tax Credits.

Netmetering in Texas

Map of Net Metering in the U.S.

Distributed Generation in Texas
A Texas Public Utilities Commission web page with all the policies that are in place)

List of Distributed Generation Contact Persons in the Texas Utilities

Small Wind in Texas
This American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) web site discusses net metering and interconnection issues.

Renewable Energy Vendors & Services
SECO does not link directly to vendors, but you can visit the Texas Renewable Energy Industry Association web site and select the Search Our Members tab. There you can search by the type of renewable energy that interests you. You can also find vendor contact information on the Texas Solar Energy Society web site and select the Find Vendors link for their database of vendors who provide products or services related to renewable energy. Of course, when talking with a vendor, always be sure to ask for references.

AWEA's Small Wind System Web Site
An information-packed American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) web site. Topics include: Industry Standards, FAQs, Success Stories, News Archives, State-by-State Information, Expert Advice Equipment Providers, and Success Stories.

ASES Small Wind Technology Division
This is a new web site created by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES).

Electricity from the Wind: What Landowners Should Know
This is a U.S. Department of Energy fact sheet.

Home and Farm Wind Turbines
Windustry recently started a small wind program to provide information to residents in the Midwest information about smaller wind turbines. Smaller wind turbines refer to turbines that generate enough power for a single home, farm or a small business.

Small Wind Energy
An Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) web site with news and events, resources, links and a quarterly newsletter about wind turbines rated 100kW or less.

Small Wind Energy Systems FAQs
An AWEA web site.

AWEA's Small Wind Communications Toolbox
The Communications Toolbox is a primary informational resource in communicating with policy makers and providing support to advocates of small wind systems.

Connecting to the Grid Guide 2007
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) has published a new edition of its Connecting to the Grid guide. The fifth edition of this guide, published in July 2007, addresses new and lingering interconnection issues that are relevant to all distributed generation technologies, including renewables, fuel cells, microturbines, and reciprocating engines. Because the interconnection of small distributed generators remains largely in the domain of states, the guide targets state regulators, other government officials, and utility representatives.

Distributed Wind Energy Technology
A DOE web site. Distributed energy refers to small, modular power-generating technologies that can be located at or near the location where the energy is used. The research goal of this program is to reduce the cost of electricity from distributed wind systems to 10 to 15 cents/kWh in Class 3 wind resources by 2007, the same level that is currently achievable in Class 5 winds.

Wind Farmers Network - Ask a Wind Expert!
The Wind Farmers Network is a discussion forum for those interested in wind power to exchange ideas and information about wind power resources, economics, technology, and how to develop a wind project. Feel free to ask a question in one of our forums. An expert in wind power will post a response shortly.

Local Benefits of Wind Power: Rural Economic Development
This Windustry web site offers a list of publications, case studies, fact sheets, and websites that include more information about the economic development potential and reality of wind power.

Community Wind Energy
A Windustry web site. With significant wind projects installed in 30 states, interest in community wind is growing among farmers and communities across the country.

Distributed Generation Interconnection Manual
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) prepared this manual to guide
the inclusion of distributed generation (DG) into the Texas electric system. It is intended for use by utility engineers processing distributed generation interconnection applications, as well as those considering the interconnection of distributed generation with a transmission and distribution utility. The manual includes a review of safety and technical requirements of DG installations; a copy of applicable rules, application procedures and forms; Texas utility contacts and equipment pre-certification requirements.

Making Your Own Clean Electricity
A DOE web site. Generating electricity using your own small renewable energy system fits the circumstances and values of some home and small-business owners. Although it takes time and money to research, buy, and maintain a system, many people enjoy the independence they gain and the knowledge that their actions are helping the environment. renewable energy system can be used to supply some or all of your electricity needs. Some people, especially those in remote areas, use the electricity from their systems in place of electricity supplied to them by power providers (i.e. electric utilities). These are called stand-alone (off-grid) systems.

Small Wind for Homeowners, Ranchers, Small Businesses
DOE has produced these Small Wind Electric Systems Consumer's Guides to help homeowners, ranchers, and small businesses decide if wind energy will work for them. The guides answer questions such as:

• Is wind energy practical for me?
• What size wind turbine do I need?
• What are the basic parts of a small wind electric system?
• What do wind systems cost?
• Where can I find installation and maintenance support?
• How much energy will my system generate?
• Is there enough wind on my site?
• How do I choose the best site for my wind turbine?
• Can I connect my system to the utility grid?
• Can I go off grid?

Advice from an Expert for Small Wind Systems
An AWEA web site with articles by Mick Sagrillo, whose knowledgeable and helpful advice columns on small wind systems have appeared in national magazines and in the AWEA Windletter for many years.

Small Wind Turbines: Tapping into Wind Energy
Thinking about installing a small wind turbine? The following are some frequently asked questions about installing small wind systems to power a household or farm.

Small Wind Turbine Equipment Providers
AWEA) has compiled a list of U.S. manufacturers and suppliers of wind turbines for use in residential, farm, and commercial/industrial applications. Many have web sites or are accessible through E-mail links.

Wind Industry Consensus Standards
AWEA sets national standards for small wind systems. You can purchase a number of reports on interconnection standards from their site.

CanWEA's fact sheets.

Wind Energy Easements and Leases: Compensation Packages
In an effort to help landowners make informed decisions based on realistic expectations, Windustry published this report which gives current figures and factors that influence compensation packages.

Farming the Wind: Wind Power and Agriculture
A Union of Concerned Scientists fact sheet, with a list of links.

Wind Power Today and Tomorrow
This is a report produced in 2003 by DOE's Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program. The report includes small wind information and community wind projects funding sources.

Build Your Own Wind Turbine
These plans are for the construction of vertical axis wind turbine, modeled after a design invented by the Finnish engineer S.J. Savonius in 1922. The Savonius rotor uses drag - not lift - to capture energy for making electricity. It isn't as efficient as a conventional horizontal axis turbine, but is much easier to build.

Looking for wind energy photos?
Go to this DOE site, PIX: The Photographic Information Exchange for an on-line collection of several thousand photos related to renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. All photos are free and for public use.

Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE)
Search for state and federal efficiency incentives by state, technology type, and incentive type with links to program web sites, legislation, tax credits and deductions, rebates, grants, low-interest loans, property and sales tax exemptions, and bond programs.

Distributed Generation Interconnection Manual
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) prepared this manual to guide
the inclusion of distributed generation (DG) into the Texas electric system. It is intended for use by utility engineers processing distributed generation interconnection applications, as well as those considering the interconnection of distributed generation with a transmission and distribution utility. The manual includes a review of safety and technical requirements of DG installations; a copy of applicable rules, application procedures and forms; Texas utility contacts and equipment pre-certification requirements.

IREC's Connecting to the Grid Program
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) Connecting to the Grid program provides services and resources to facilitate the development of interconnection standards and net metering for renewable-energy systems and other forms of distributed generation (DG). This page of the IREC web site serves as an information clearinghouse on interconnection and net-metering issues.

Ask an Expert!
This DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Information Center answers questions on EERE's products, services, and technology programs, refers callers to the most appropriate EERE resources, and refers qualified callers to the appropriate expert networks.

Wind Energy and U.S. Energy Subsidies
An American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) 2006 fact sheet.

How Wind Turbines Work
A DOE web site.

Low Wind Speed Technology
The research goal of Low Wind Speed Technology is to reduce the cost of electricity from large wind systems in class 4 winds to 3 cents/kWh for onshore systems or 5 cents/kWh for offshore systems by 2007.

The Effect of Windmill Farms on Military Readiness
A U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) report detailing how wind turbines can interfere with military radar.

Wind Power Animation
This DOE wind power animation demonstrates how large and small wind turbines work and how they are used.

How does a Wind Turbine Work?
This DOE site includes an aerial view of a wind power plant, a glossary and a wind turbine animation.

Guided Tour on Wind Energy
Each one of the chapters in this Danish Wind Energy Association guided tour is a self-contained unit. Topics include turbine siting, energy output, generators, turbine design, manufacturing, and the history of wind energy.

Movie: Wind Farming
The movie features a visit to the largest wind farm in New York, Maple Ridge Wind Farm, a joint venture between Horizon Wind Energy and PPM Energy.

Wind Energy Glossary

The Economics of Wind Energy

If Not Wind, What?
This web site includes Wind Energy 101, Wind Energy Facts and Myths, Wind Energy and Wild Life, and a Research Center.

The Most Frequently Asked Questions About Wind Energy
An AWEA publication.

Wind Energy Myths
Analyzes the top ten myths about electricity generated from wind turbines, and provides answers based on studies from a variety of sources.

Wind Energy Finance (WEF) Online Calculator
DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory created Wind Energy Finance, a free online energy calculator, to enable quick, detailed economic evaluation of potential utility-scale wind energy projects. WEF should be used by anyone interested in evaluating the economics of potential utility scale wind energy projects. The tool is designed for those who have general experience with project financial analysis but little knowledge of wind projects. See this WEF fact sheet.

Wind Energy Project Model Software
This software can be used world-wide to easily evaluate the energy production, life-cycle costs and greenhouse gas emissions reduction for central-grid, isolated-grid and off-grid wind energy projects, ranging in size from large scale multi-turbine wind farms to small scale single-turbine wind-diesel hybrid systems.

Wind Power's Contribution to Electric Power Generation and Impact on Farms and Rural Communities
This is a 2004 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

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