Tom Walker
Australian markets correspondent
Beat: Australian small wind — STCs, AS/NZS 3000 compliance, and rural off-grid setups
Tom writes about small wind in Australia and New Zealand from a base in regional Victoria. He worked as an electrical apprentice on rural solar-and-pump installs in NSW before moving to writing, which gives him a working sense of where AS/NZS 3000 actually pinches a small-wind install. He prefers pole-mounted turbines on the windward edge of a property over rooftop installs, and the rare time he writes about urban setups he lets the reader know it is the harder case. He thinks the STC scheme is more useful than most installers explain.
Articles by Tom Walker
wind resource assessment
Weibull Distribution for Wind Energy: What k and c Actually Mean
Learn how Weibull k (shape) and c (scale) parameters define your site's wind profile and predict small turbine output. Real examples from 5-10 kW installations included.
wind resource assessment
Wind Shear Formula for Hub Height: Extrapolating Ground Data
Learn the power law wind shear formula to extrapolate 10m ground measurements to your turbine hub height. Includes coefficients, worked examples, and error ranges.
wind resource assessment
Wind Turbine Swept Area: Calculate Rotor Size & Power Output
Swept area determines how much wind energy a turbine can capture. Learn the formula, why rotor diameter matters more than blade count, and how to size a system.
wind resource assessment
How To Read the DOE WindExchange Map for Your Address (2025)
The DOE WindExchange map shows wind speed at your home—but only if you decode hub height, filter layers, and match your turbine class. Here's the exact process.
wind resource assessment
How to Measure Wind Speed at Your Property Before You Buy
Learn proven methods to assess wind resources on your property using anemometers, data loggers, and free tools—so you know if a turbine investment makes sense.
wind resource assessment
Do Wind Turbines Work in Low Wind Areas? Performance Analysis
Small wind turbines need minimum 9-10 mph average wind to generate meaningful power. Low-wind sites under 8 mph often produce 30-40% of rated output, making payback periods exceed 25 years.
wind resource assessment
How Much Wind Do You Need for a Home Wind Turbine?
Home wind turbines need average wind speeds of 10+ mph (Class 2) to generate meaningful power. Most residential sites require 9-12 mph sustained winds to justify investment.