Do I Buy Wind Turbine Insurance Policy?
Before you buy a wind turbine, you need to research insurance requirements first. Most people do not know about insurance requirements for a wind turbine until after they buy a wind turbine. Do not make that mistake.
Before I go on, you are probably wondering why insurance is even needed. It is not some conspiracy by energy companies to torture you for wanting to install your own wind turbine or solar panels. Whether you need additional insurance or not all comes down to how you are wiring up your wind turbine or solar panel system. If you are using a battery bank and not selling your power back to the power company, then you need not worry about having additional insurance coverage. The only time you are going to need additional insurance is if you are wiring your wind turbine up to the power grid in order to make your meter “run backwards”.
In more and more communities across the country, the local electric company is demanding people have an additional million dollar insurance policy before connecting to the power grid. One such state I know this is common practice in is Texas.
My friend who lives in Texas had this problem. He was shocked when his local power company told him he needed a million dollar insurance policy before connecting to the power grid. He called insurance company after insurance company asking about a wind turbine insurance policy and everyone told him they did not sell such a policy. He really wanted to sell power back to the power company and not just use a battery bank to power things in his own house.
Here is how we solved the problem. You need to call your local power company and tell them that you want a reverse meter so that they can measure the amount of energy you are feeding back into the power grid in order to assign you proper credit. There is specific wiring that you need to use that must be approved by your county. They require this specific wiring so that your system does not electrocute a lineman who is working on a line somewhere down from your wind or solar power generator.
Do not waste your time calling insurance companies and asking about a wind power or solar power insurance policy. They will just tell you they do not know what you are talking about. What you get is called an umbrella policy on your homeowner’s insurance. Your insurance company might call this secondary insurance. This type of policy goes beyond what your homeowner’s insurance policy covers. Search on the web for an insurance company that sells this type of insurance.
There are standards that exist for how you wire up your wind turbine or solar panel system to the power grid. You must have an automatic transfer switch that disconnects you from the power grid in case of a power outage. You also must stay “in phase” with the power grid at all times. There are many “How to buy a wind turbine and install it” books available that tell you how to do these things.
