An alternative energy vortex
Rexburg (ID) Standard Journal
November 7, 2008
By Joyce Edelfsen
http://www.rexburgstandardjournal.com
This home has two small residential wind turbines similar to the one Paul Mortensen plans to install on his 1.66 acres of land in the Salem area. The turbines are designed to work in tandem with a resident's regular utility company.
A Salem man with connections to a wind-turbine company plans to install a residential turbine at his residence.
Paul Mortensen, who lives in southern Fremont County, applied in September for a permit for the 33-foot-high turbine. The county Planning and Zoning Commission decided he would not need a Class 2 permit that requires a public hearing and approval by the commission.
Instead, the turbine on his 1.66-acres of property will require only a Class 1 permit issued by the office.
So far only the concrete pad for the turbine has been installed, Mortensen said. The company that builds the turbines, Southwest Windpower, is a bit behind on its orders for the towers.
According to the company's Web site, the 21-year-old Flagstaff, Ariz.-based firm is the world's largest producer of small-scale wind generators.
It has produced more than 130,000 small wind generators that power everything from sailboats to commercial retailers.
Mortensen's son-in-law just happens to work for the company, and Mortensen has been dabbling in selling the Skystream 3.7, the turbine designed specifically for the grid-connected residential market.
The grid-connected turbines work in concert with the resident's power company.
Kinetic energy from the wind on the rotating blades generates power with wind as slow as 8 mph. If there's not enough wind to generate sufficient power for the residence, power from the utility company augments the wind power. If the wind turbine produces more power than the residence can use, the utility meter runs backward, giving the turbine owner credit with the utility.
The wind turbine company works with the utility to arrange for a new meter or meters to be installed to accommodate the turbine's power and deal with the usage levels.
Once the turbine is installed, all the resident has to do is pray for wind.
Parkinson said once a person sees the meter run backward, the concept is easy to sell.
On a recent weekend, he helped sell eight in the upper valley area, including a 45-footer in Ashton, Parkinson said.
His son-in-law, Steve Painter, said alternative energy's time has come. "The times are changing," he said. "In five years it's going to be totally different."
For one thing, electric-powered cars will likely be common.
"I don't think one thing (oil) is the answer," Painter said of the country's energy needs. "We've been stuck on one thing too long."
Wind power is a viable option for homeowners, given that state and federal tax credits help pay the initial costs, and if power costs continue to climb, the wind turbines will pay for themselves even quicker, Painter said.
"If you have an option to produce a little power at your house, why not?"
Offering his sales pitch, he said the turbines are built for the long term, for 35 years plus. They don't require the amount of wind that a larger turbine does. They are quiet, can blend in with their surroundings and are simple, with no batteries required.
Mortensen said his power bill runs about $150 to $160 a month. If he can save $100 a month through wind power generation, "I'm tickled." He predicts once one of the $12,700 turbines is up it could take him only a few years in savings to pay the costs after tax credits are deducted.
Mortensen chuckles about his move into the realm of alternative energy. He said his family seems to be favoring that industry right now.
His son Andrew Mortensen is involved in a biofuel plant in American Falls. The plant, Pleasant Valley Biofuels, converts used cooking oil from potato chip producers into diesel.
For more information about residential turbines, visit www.skystreamenergy.com.
|
