ICC-SWCC issues new certifications for small, distributed wind turbines (< 150 kW peak power) to the American Clean Power (ACP) standard ACP 101-1 2021, The Small Wind Turbine Standard as of January 1, 2023. Legacy certifications may be maintained to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) standard AWEA 9.1 – 2009, Small Wind Turbine Performance and Safety Standard for small wind turbines with a swept area up to 200 m2. Both standards reference and extend the test methods and requirements specified in IEC 61400-2, IEC 61400-11, and IEC 61400-12-1.
ACP 101-1, 2021 The Small Wind Turbine Standard
The goal of the ACP 101-1 standard is given as “provide meaningful criteria upon which to assess the quality of the engineering that has gone into a small wind turbine and to provide consumers with performance data that will help them make informed purchasing decisions and an assurance that a turbine has been certified to a national standard”. ACP 101-1 is the successor document to AWEA 9.1. It is developed by ACP’s Wind Technical Standards Committee (WTSC).
AWEA 9.1-2009 Small Wind Turbine Standard
The goal of the AWEA Standard 9.1 is to provide meaningful criteria upon which to assess the quality of small wind turbines and to provide consumers with performance data that will help them make informed purchasing decisions.
ICC-SWCC certifies medium distributed wind turbines (150 -300 kW peak power) per the IEC 61400-12-1 (Power Performance), IEC 61400-11 (Acoustic Performance) and/or IEC 61400-1 (Design Requirements) as selected by the applicant.
IEC 61400 Series of Standards
The IEC 61400 wind turbine standards are developed by working groups of Technical Committee 88 (TC-88) of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Those utilized by ICC-SWCC are listed below.
- IEC 61400-12-1, ed.1.0, Power Performance Measurements of Electricity Producing Turbines
- IEC 61400-11, ed.3.0, Acoustic Noise Measurement Techniques
- IEC 61400-1, ed.3.0, Design Requirements
Distributed Wind Certification Best Practices Guideline, A report published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) which attempts to simplify the certification process in the U.S. by organizing available information and guiding the user to the applicable set of requirements.