the small wind
certification council
issued its first full certifications, the Bergey
windpower excel 10
(left) and the southwest
windpower skystream
3. 7, late last year.
SouthWeSt WindPoWer
bergey WindPoWer
as of february, swcc
had 27 additional turbine models under contract to pursue swcc
certification, and many
state and provincial
incentive programs for
turbines included certification as part of their
eligibility requirements.
Once an applicant turbine model is certified, SWCC issues an SWCC certificate, summary report and consumer label (see sample
label on page 24).
Many state programs
are moving toward or are
requiring certification
for a turbine to be eligible
for incentives.
ahead: ul electrical
Safety Standards
One missing piece related to the permitting
and inspection of small wind turbine installations remains: electrical testing and listing of
small wind turbines for code compliance. The
development of the AWEA standard and SWCC
was never meant to address this need.
SWCC certification is primarily a verification of durability, function, power performance
and acoustic characteristics of small wind turbines to provide consumers and state agencies
with information to help them make informed
decisions. Code-enforcing officials may still
require certification from a nationally recognized test laboratory (NRTL) that ensures the
electrical safety of the wind turbine and satisfies
the National Electrical Code requirement for
NRTL listing. This electrical safety certification
is outside the scope of SWCC. Underwriters
Laboratories (UL) is developing new electrical safety standards for small wind turbines
to address this issue. UL plans to publish UL
6142: Small Wind Turbine Generating Systems
in 2012.
more Programs requiring
SWcc certification
Many state programs are moving toward
or are requiring certification for a turbine to be
eligible for incentives. The California Energy
Commission (CEC) recently reinstituted its
Emerging Renewables Program Rebates, includ-
ing immediate certification requirements. New
York State Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA) requires certification
by SWCC or another independent certifying
agency, an international organization accredited
on the basis of the European Standard for Prod-
uct Certification, or an NRTL for turbines not
already on its approved list to qualify for rebates.
NYSERDA has announced that it will require
full certification to the AWEA standard for small
wind turbine models to remain eligible for fund-
ing as of Sept. 30, 2012. Both NYSERDA and
the CEC have seen record numbers of rebate
applicants in the past year.
