First windmill installation in Greene County pointing the way to 'small wind' savings

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Observer-Reporter.com (PA)
October 26, 2009
By Jon Stevens
www.observer-reporter.com

WAYNESBURG - Don Quixote would be beside himself, what with all these windmills farms sprouting up on America's landscape.

Cervantes' character wouldn't know which imaginary enemy to attack first, and as he said to his squire Sancho Panza, "Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished. Do you see over yonder thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them."

"What giants?" asked Sancho Panza.

"Those you see over there," replied his master, "with their long arms. Some of them have arms well nigh two leagues in length."

"Take care, sir," cried Sancho. "Those over there are not giants but windmills. Those things that seem to be their arms are sails which, when they are whirled around by the wind, turn the millstone."

Such a giant has found its way on a hilltop on White's Ridge Road off Route 218 in Franklin Township, about six miles south of Waynesburg. It's on the property of John Stewart, who is planning to "power up" to make an environmentally friendly kennel next to his home.

The Skystream 3.7 windmill was erected by Tri State Electricity of Waynesburg, and is intended to give homeowners a new weapon in the fight against electricity costs. It is Greene County's first windmill, but most likely not the last.

Joe Larkin from Tri State said all it takes is just an eight-mile-per-hour wind to run the windmill.

"When the wind isn't blowing, the utility supplies the electricity. But when it's windy out, the Skystream pivots to catch the best wind and provides clean, quiet electricity," he said.

"When it generates more electricity than you need, the electric meter can actually spin backwards, which means you're essentially selling electricity back to the utility."

Representatives from Tri State explained that the typical cost to purchase and install a windmill like Skystream 3.7 is $15,000 to $18,000, but it can pay for itself in five to 12 years.

Larkin said it's anticipated that Skystream 3.7 will save the average homeowner $500 to $800 a year, based on 4,800 to 6,600 kWh produced per year.

"This output would provide 40 to 90 percent of an average home's energy needs," he said.

A windmill can lower electric bills by as much as 80 percent, protect against volatile electricity prices, reduce dependence on foreign oil, and produces clean energy that doesn't affect global warming. Most importantly, it provides independence and stability for the homeowner, Larkin said.

Recognizing that the development of alternative energy sources and increased usage of "clean" power is critical to the country's future, state and federal governments offer tax incentives for the installation of alternative energy systems.

Robert Thresher, director of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, said, "This new technology is an important step forward for small wind. As technology becomes more efficient at harnessing energy at low wind speeds, small-scale users will become more and more able to take advantage of wind power."