Establishing wind energy as a major source of electricity can be expensive and have many disadvantages; However, wind energy can also have many important benefits. Purchasing and installing a wind turbine is expensive. The cost of installing a small “single domestic turbine” can be as much as thirteen thousand five hundred dollars! The Skystream is a popular home wind turbine. With this turbine, homeowners should earn between thirty-five and forty cents per kilowatt hour in order to earn the amount it cost to purchase this turbine over the first ten years of owning the turbine, the life of which is estimated to be around twenty years old. The smaller the turbine, the more expensive it will be. Small turbines can cost between five thousand and fifteen thousand dollars, while a larger turbine will cost between fifteen hundred dollars and around two thousand dollars, and a commercial turbine will only cost around five hundred to seven hundred dollars. This is because small turbines are more likely to fail and do not generate as much electricity as larger turbines (Gipe 125-128). Although smaller turbines cost more, larger turbines cost more to install. Installing a two-megawatt turbine thirty stories high can cost approximately $3.5 million (Alina-Florentine 66). Purchasing and installing a wind turbine isn't the only cost potential buyers need to prepare for; the cost of maintaining a wind turbine can also be high. Wind turbines are like cars, they can be expensive to maintain. The total “recurring costs” each year, for items such as maintenance, insurance and repairs, can be around 4% of the turbine installation cost. For the Skystream turbine, it was estimated that the "annual revenue...... middle of paper ......nce Series 20.2 (2011): 62-68. Commercial source completed. Internet. November 1, 2013 Alters, Sandra. Energy: supplies, sustainability and costs. Detroit, Michigan; Thomas Gale, 2007. Print. Gipe, Paul. Wind Energy Basics: A Guide to Home and Community-Scale Wind Energy Systems. 2nd ed. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Pub., 2009. Print. Motavalli, Jim. “Wind energy should be pursued. » Energy alternatives. Ed. Barbara Passero. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Views. Excerpt from “Catching the Wind”. Revue E. 2005: 26-39. Opposing viewpoints in context. Internet. November 12, 2013. Smith, Douglas J. “Wind Project Developers Face Many Challenges. » Energy Engineering 108.5 (2004): 46. MasterFILE Premier. Internet. November 3, 2013. Willey, Lawrence. “Challenges and Rewards for Wind Power Engineers.” Mechanical Engineering 134.8 (2012): 52-53. Commercial source completed. Internet. November 1. 2013.