Application · Ranch & farm

Ranch & farm wind turbine

Farms are the best small-wind customers in the world: unobstructed land, steady wind, a real electricity bill and loads that tolerate an intermittent supply. A 5 kW machine typically replaces a diesel generator within four years.

The classic farm loads are pumps, fences, barn lighting and a cold room. Pumps are the easiest to serve because they can run when the wind blows and stop when it does not — no battery needed if you pump into a tank. A 2 kW turbine driving a 1.5 kW pump lifts about 30 m³ a day from a 40 m head in a 5 m/s wind.

The second pattern is the diesel-parallel farm: the turbine carries base load, the generator starts only for the milking parlour or the grain dryer. Controllers for this arrangement need frequency and voltage sensing, and a dump load sized to the turbine's full output.

Typical load profile

Load	Power	Hours/day	Daily energy
Stock water pump 1.5 kW	1,500 W	6 h	9 kWh
Electric fencing (5 km)	150 W	24 h	3.6 kWh
Barn and yard lighting	300 W	6 h	1.8 kWh
Milk cooling 2 kW	2,000 W	4 h	8 kWh
Cold room 1.5 kW	1,500 W	8 h	12 kWh

Recommended configuration

Recommended model: WT-5000H (5 kW) on a 15 m lattice tower
Storage / hybrid: 240 V DC bus, 20 kWh LFP, 5 kWp PV
Diesel backup: 10 kVA generator, auto-start, 60 running hours/year
Autonomy: 3 days
Installed cost: USD 16,000 – 24,000
Diesel displaced: About 6,000 litres/year

Pump directly, store water not electricity

If your main load is water, skip the battery: run the pump when the wind blows and store the water in a tank. A 10 m³ tank costs less than 5 kWh of lithium and never wears out.

Three-phase is worth the extra cost

A 400 V machine feeds a pump or a workshop directly, avoids phase-balancing problems on a weak single-phase supply, and lets you use standard agricultural motors instead of specialised DC pumps.

Design for the worst week, not the average

Farms fail in the calm week of a cold snap, not on an average day. Keep the generator, or size storage for three days of full load. The extra battery is cheaper than a lost milking.

Frequently asked questions

Can a wind turbine pump water without batteries?

Yes — this is the oldest use of wind power and still the most cost-effective. The pump runs on variable frequency, matching rotor speed to flow, and the water tank provides the storage. No battery, no inverter, no electronics beyond the pump controller.

How much wind does a farm need?

A 5 m/s annual average at 15 m hub height is a good site; 4 m/s is marginal but still works for pumping, where the alternative is a diesel pump. Measure for three months at hub height, ideally in the windiest season.

What maintenance does a farm turbine need?

An annual service: bolt torque, blade inspection for leading-edge erosion, guy tension, brake test, and a controller log review. Budget about 1.5 % of the capital cost per year.