A windfall of energy
The Indianola Record Herald
October 18, 2008
By Aaron W. Jaco
www.indianolarecordherald.com
A wooden windmill spins lazily on a spacious lawn in rural Indianola.
Next door, Anita and Eric Christensen intend to install a windmill of their own — but something a bit more modern.
The Christensens, 8918 110th Ave., said they plan to purchase a 50-foot tall fiberglass wind turbine to generate as much as half their home’s energy needs. They could have it up and running by wintertime.
“We saw it at a booth in the Warren County Fair,” Eric Christensen said. “My wife and I had both been in to alternative energy, so we decided to look into it.”
When it’s up and whirring, the Christensen’s chosen wind generator — the Skystream 3.7 from
Southwest Windpower, Inc. in Flagstaff, Ariz. — is expected to produce as many as 1.9 kilowatts per hour.
Wind energy created by the turbine would literally turn the Christensen’s power meter backward, saving them money on energy costs.
Eric Christensen is skeptical about whether the generator, with its $15,000 to $20,000 price tag, would pay for itself in a timely fashion. He said it’s as much of a “green” initiative as it is a money-saving venture.
“If we didn’t have an interest in alternative energy,” Christensen said, “we might not be doing it.”
Turbines generally produce about 20 percent of their maximum capacity, said Keith Kutz, administrative specialist at the Iowa Energy Center.
If that rough model were applied to Christensen’s future wind generator, it could provide about 3,300 kilowatt hours of electricity per year — enough to power the average Midwestern home for three to four months.
“But again, it’s very site-dependent,” Kutz said. “Somebody in Indianola might be on a good farm, and you might go a mile down the road and not get as good a site.”
Eric Christensen said his family might use solar panels to provide their home’s remaining energy needs.
A special Warren County zoning board, the Board of Adjustment, agreed on Oct. 9, to lower the Christensen’s building permit cost from $1,000 to $100.
Turbines are currently subject to the same permit costs as cell towers and other towers.
The Christensens hadn’t picked up their permit as of press time Oct. 13. They would be the second family in Warren County to obtain a permit for building a residential wind turbine.
Officials awarded the first permit for a residential wind turbine to a company called Farm Boy Energy on June 19 in anticipation of building a generator on the property of William and Joanne Hon, 19602 130th Ave., Indianola.
The Hon family didn’t return a call seeking interview. Warren County Zoning Director Bob Folkestad said they hadn’t built their turbine, which he said carried an estimated $80,000 to $120,000 price tag.
Warren County may revise its tower ordinance to officially lower the permit fee for private wind turbines, Folkestad said.
“This is for trying to improve the environment,” Folkestad said. “They’re no different from the old windmills (people would) have to pump water.” |
