Webbing Wrapup

Webbing Wrap-up

I was able to answer many of my questions regarding “small wind” or what I’d call residential wind from the American Wind Energy Association’s page.   From the AWEA’s Small Wind page I discovered a wonderful resource known as the Small Wind Toolkit.  

Their FAQ page was awesome!  It contained viewable PowerPoint and PDF slide shows for each topic / question.  I preferred the PDF format.  Ironic but many of the questions I had formulated for this project were listed in the FAQ.  Also on the Small Wind page were answers to my local questions about folks in Indiana.  Most of the information I uncovered centered on the tax implications wind turbines would provide.  In Indiana wind turbines are exempt from property tax, even if you have a small setup on your RV.  Hey Dr. Lamb hook one up!!

I also discovered a map of where the best locations in Indiana are to implement a setup.  

Reading information on the local aspects of wind power really got me excited and interested.  The more information I read the more I realized I don’t have one very key aspect, location.  My personal property sits on low ground and we have lots of trees.  

It was hard to wrap-up or move away from the information retrieval aspect of this project.  The majority of my information came not from Google searching and reading database searches on wind power in the news.  Most of my information came from the established websites on wind power.  

As I sifted through the plethora of information I encountered I tried to keep my Essential Questions in focus.  I wanted to focus on the economic benefits of wind power.  

As a result of my focus on the issue of “economics” I wanted to find answers to the logistics of implementing a windmill.  

I see myself following in the footsteps of Carol Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process.  However I see myself flipping back and forth between her steps of “Formulating a Focus” and “Collecting Information”.  The more information you collect the more your focus begins to narrow or widen.  

I’m getting ready in the next step – WRAPPING – to do Kuhlthau’s “Preparing to Present”.