Wind Turbine Installation (≤100kW)
For turbines less than or equal to 100kW, a site analysis done by a Certified Wind Site Assessor must be submitted with a Letter of Inquiry Application (see www.mreacsa.org and What to expect from a Wind Site Assessment Report). The Foundation does not make grants to help defray site assessment costs.
Grant support is based on turbine size and is paid on a $/kW or percentage of total cost basis, whichever is less. Five percent of the total grant amount is withheld until 6 months of satisfactory turbine performance has been achieved.
Please see How to Apply to learn about preparing your Letter of Inquiry and to get the latest information on deadlines.
| Application Deadlines: | Letters of Inquiry are due January 19, or July 19, 2012. | |||||||||
Review Process: | 4 months. The Foundation evaluates Letters of Inquiry against the funding criteria below. Within two months of the above deadlines, a committee of the Foundation's Board of Trustees will decide whether to invite applicants to submit Full Proposals for consideration by the Board of Trustees that announces grants in early May and early November. The Foundation's review process is competitive. | |||||||||
| Available Support: |
Foundation grant support is available up to the amounts specified in the table. Incentive levels will be adjusted so that the combined project support from the Foundation and state funding sources shall not exceed 60% of the project cost. The Foundation reserves the right to change funding levels and guidelines. | |||||||||
| Restrictions: | The Foundation does not fund wind turbine projects installed for the purpose of selling the generation to third parties. The project must be wholly owned by an eligible applicant and cannot include ownership by private investors or commercial interests. |
Funding Guidelines
Criteria
Wind turbine installation projects seeking Foundation support must have completed their site assessment at the time the Letter of Inquiry Application is submitted. The Foundation helps to fund wind turbine installations that are sized to meet some or most of, but not exceed, the grant applicant's annual electric usage. In addition, to be eligible for Foundation funding, the project must be wholly owned by an eligible applicant and cannot include ownership by private investors or commercial interests.
If invited to submit a Full Proposal, the applicant must provide evidence of zoning approval or assurance of zoning approval in order to be considered for funding. As this may take considerable time to obtain, applicants are strongly encouraged to begin the process before applying for a grant.
Priorities
The Foundation gives priority to wind turbine installation projects that:
- have secured all additional funding
- feature a strong education and outreach component
- complement the implementation of significant energy efficiency measures at the
facility(ies) planning to use the turbine's generation - have publicly accessible web-based monitoring