Unalaska, AK – More residents are seeking to install their own residential wind turbines to reduce their power costs, but local wind power expert Dick Peck says his studies show that residents might want to think twice before investing in the technology.

"It's all about location and elevation. What I have found, at the higher elevations you have better wind velocities and at lower elevations it is much reduced and it may not even be economical," he said. "And so I really caution a lot of residents they may not have the quantities of wind to repay their investment."

He also cautions residents about the types of generators they are considering. "Propeller-type generator is a very, very good unit but the vertical axis only produce half the energy so they may not even be economical to install."

Peck was hired by the Ounalashka Corporation and Westward Seafoods to collect and study wind data gathered at two points in Pyramid Valley. His records include wind speeds, shears, and directions for the past 2 years and show that the wind is only strong enough to produce power 31 percent of the year. And that's at a prime location where the wind isn't impeded by mountains. Peck cautions that at lower elevations, like in the Valley, the wind may only be strong enough 10 to 20 percent of the year.

Peck says this does not mean wind is not a good idea for the city. He says putting 5 to 10 megawatts of wind power generators along the ridge would significantly reduce the city's overall fuel costs, but it would not eliminate the need for diesel generators.

"You have to have the generators to firm up what's called load following. As the wind dies off you need that diesel generation to go forward to take that load," he said.

He says using the data he's gathering, engineers could develop wind turbines that specifically suit the local environment. Peck is offering to help residents who are interested in building their own turbines figure out if their locations would be suitable.