Wind Energy for the Residential Masses

[RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Wind energy technology for small, residential applications has faced development problems in terms of mounting the turbines, surviving turbulent winds and generating enough electricity for substantial power needs. Four companies; U.S. Wind Farming, Zeller International, Apache Electric and Ashman Technologies, are forming a partnership to develop a new generation of wind turbine/solar/LED technologies for global urban and rural settings. The project is sponsored through homeland security applications, and the companies expect to install the technology in three locations in New York City soon. The goal of the partnership is to manufacture, install and operate these next generation technologies in the U.S. where about 15 million homes and over 1 million small businesses could use small wind energy systems under favorable economic circumstances. They are also looking to Europe, which currently uses wind power for about 2 percent of its electrical energy needs, and the European Wind Power Association predicts that the global market for wind power equipment could be worth some $35 billion per year within five years.