An idea blowing in the wind: Interest in wind turbines growing

Interest in energy-producing wind turbines
has picked up locally in tough economy.

An idea blowing in the wind: Interest in wind turbines growing - The Elkhart Truth - Elkhart, IN

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Published: 8/25/2009 12:00:00 AM
Last Updated: 8/24/2009 11:15:42 PM

By: Dustin Lawrence dlawrence@etruth.com


ELKHART -- Only a light morning breeze hit the Skystream 3.7 wind turbine. After looking up the 45-foot tower, Glen Smith grabbed a three-foot-long wrench and began tightening the bolts at its base.

"Have to make sure the unit's level," Smith explained. As the breeze began to pick up, the three carbon fiber fins began to slowly rotate. "And there they go."

Nearly five years ago Smith was servicing similar towers for a cellular phone company. But as the economy began to spin downward he was laid off. That's when Smith and his brother, Dave, began looking for a new way to utilize their engineering know-how. After meeting with Southwest Windpower, the manufacturer of the Skystream turbine, the brothers were awarded a dealership to sell the turbines. They called their new venture Wind-Wire.

Now Wind-Wire is the central Midwest dealer for Skystream turbines and business is booming. Based out of St. Joseph County, they sell and install generators in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. But even in Elkhart County, where unemployment is still at a stifling 16.7 percent, Smith says the machines are piquing interest.

"In Elkhart County we have been doing one to two (installations) a month lately," he said. "It's a good county. The people are proactive."

Back in 2008, only one request for a wind generator went through the Elkhart County Planning Department. But since April there have been six requests and more are expected. Other businesses that supply residential wind turbines in Elkhart County say they too have noticed a spike in consumer interest.

But the trend isn't specific to only Elkhart County. Smith says residents are putting up wind turbines throughout the Midwest and across much of the country.

"We will have done a hundred by the end of the year," he said. "By next year we will be well over 100."

Smith says the reason that so many have begun to purchase his turbines -- which cost around $12,500 after the tax credits -- is because people are looking to lower their energy costs or in some cases get rid of them all together.

"If this (turbine) is humming it will pretty much power that whole house," he claimed, pointing to a single-story ranch house. "Any energy that this puts out and that the house is not using ... It will turn the meter backwards."

On the Skystream Web site the company claims that its product typically lowers a household electric bill by 30 to 80 percent.

Nick Meyer, communications manager for Northern Indiana Public Service Company, notes NIPSCO does not buy back power but offers customers with wind generators participation in its net metering program.

"If the customer generates more power than they're using then they build up a credit," Meyer said about the net metering program.

Other utilities in Indiana, such as AEP's Indiana Michigan Power, offer similar net metering programs. However, Indiana law doesn't allow net metering benefits for wind generators that produce more than 10 kilowatts. Of the 42 states that require net metering, Indiana has one of the most restrictive limits. Arizona and Ohio don't have any limits.

Still, power generated by a wind turbine directly offsets the cost of power from the grid.

That's one reason why Mark and Paula Steiner decided to get a wind turbine. Wind-Wire recently installed a 45-foot wind tower in the couple's back yard.

"In the long run the extra cash will go back to my children's college funds," Steiner said, also admitting that environmental impact was a reason they purchased the wind turbine.

Yet Steiner also says she wouldn't have bought the wind turbine without the tax credits.

Heidi McHugh, marketing manager for Mobile Home and Energy, a Middlebury supplier of solar and wind energy options, says her company has seen a 15 percent increase in business since January. That's when the Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency went into affect, allowing consumers such as Steiner to get up to 30 percent of the costs for energy saving projects.

But the initial costs is one reason why many can't install wind generators on their properties. The American Wind Energy Association says a typical home wind system costs around $32,000 installed and an Indiana Consumers Guide says they can cost as much as $50,000.

Even though Wind-Wire's systems cost far less than those estimates, Smith notes there is another deterrent -- a lack of wind. On a six-tiered system that measures wind productivity, most of Northern Indiana is rated a class two. That means the estimated productivity per square mile is 350 to 500 kilowatt-hours per year. In a class-six area, the productivity is 770 to 880 kilowatt-hours per year.

While costs and lack of wind has turned some in Elkhart County away from wind energy, it has inspired others. Doug Martin, an engineer with a background in ultralight flyers, has already raised three prototype wind turbines, which he says are more efficient than most others on the market.

On his 17-acre property rise testaments to his resolution -- 80-foot high towers topped by his prototype generators.

"This all starts somewhere," Martin said. "At one point Bill Gates was sitting in his college dorm room saying, 'You know what, software is the next big thing.'"

Martin says that like the famed entrepreneur, he too is a "capitalist" who has noticed a future demand across the county. And even as companies like Home and Mobile Energy and Wind-Wire are now seeing more customers, Martin hopes to further perfect his design.

"In the very near future," Martin said, "this (renewable energy) could be the biggest market."

Wind-Wire of South Bend and Home and Mobile Energy of Middlebury are both Business Members of the Indiana Renewable Energy Association.

Indiana General Assembly Adjourns Sine Die Without RES

The 2008 session of the Indiana General Assembly adjourned on Friday, March 14 without enacting a state Renewable Electricity Standard or RES for Indiana electric utilities. Yup, that makes three years in a row that our state legislators were not able to bring us in line with more than half of the other states in the United States that have already adopted an RES.

The last time I wrote about this subject for this blog I described the initial conference committee report offered by Rep. Russ Stilwell for HB 1117. During the final days of the session alternative conference committee report was circulated on behalf of Sen. Brandt Hershman. Most observers believe that Sen. Hershman’s proposal reflected the position of Ed Simcox and the Indiana Energy Association. See www.indianaenergy.org.

The RES portion of this conference committee report was as follows:

Each electricity supplier shall supply electricity that is generated from, or otherwise qualifies as, a renewable energy resource or an advanced energy resource to Indiana customers as a percentage of the total electricity supplied by the electricity supplier to Indiana customers a follows:

2% by 2011 (as compared to 2% by 2010);
4% by 2015 (as compared to 5%);
6% by 2020 (as compared to 8%); and
10% by 2025 (as compared to 12%).

Ok so not as good as the proposal offered by Rep. Stilwell but it was still a start you might think. Yes, but the real debate was over other issues in the bill such as “trackers”.

HB 1280 addressing energy efficient buildings was enacted during the 2008 session, however, it was basically stripped of its original content and was turned into a study committee topic assigned to the Environmental Quality Service Council or EQSC. After a rather lively and lengthy debate --for the short session--, in the Senate Energy & Environmental Affairs Committee chaired by Sen. Beverly Gard (R-Greenfield), HB 1280 was amended to become merely a study committee topic. Sen. Gard did indicate a willingness to amend the bill in Conference Committee and to allow the parties to the discussion to continue negotiations. So HB 1280 was passed by the Senate and then House author Rep. Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington) dissented on the bill to allow it to be considered in Conference Committee. A Conference Committee hearing was held during the last week of the session; however, a resolution of differences was not reached. During the waning hours of the session, Rep. Pierce withdrew his dissent motion and thereby allowing the House to vote on a concurrence motion to agree with the changes made to the bill in the Senate.

Those interested in learning more about EQSC and its activities during the 2007 interim should visit-- http://www.in.gov/legislative/interim/committee/eqsc.html

Indiana General Assembly Enters the "Twilight Zone"; HB 1117 and HB 1280 Conferees Named

We are now moving into the final two weeks of the 2008 session of the Indiana General Assembly. State legislators at this stage of the game only address bills that have already passed both the House and the Senate. Conference Committees are appointed to work out the differences between the versions or the variations of the proposed legislation.

Quite frankly, I refer to this period of the session addressing Conference Committees as the "Twilight Zone".

Wikipedia says this: "The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created (and often written) by its narrator and host Rod Serling. Each episode (156 in the original series) is a self-contained fantasy, science fiction, or horror story, often concluding with an eerie or unexpected twist."

It's the eerie or unexpected twist I guess that causes me to think of Conference Committees as sometimes taking place in the "Twilight Zone". Anything can and does happen during this part of the session. Just remember that this episode of the bizarre fantasy known as the 2008 session of the Indiana General Assembly will conclude March 14th! Of course, there is the possibility that Governor Mitch Daniels will call state legislators back to the State House for a Special Session, however, that is not likely unless they fail to act on property tax relief.

HB 1117 addresses a variety of coal issues including coal gasification. Sen. Hershman added an amendment in the Senate that establishes a weak renewable electricity standard.

For more information see these recent articles:
from the Speedway Navigator http://www.speedwaynavigator.net/V3I1/a24.html
and from the South Bend Tribune http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080223/BIZ/802230442.

Renewable energy advocates will want to watch HB 1117 closely during conference and to communicate with conferees, advisors and their own state legislators to urge that the renewable electricity standard language be strengthened in the bill.

The conferees and advisors appointed for HB 1117 last week (02/28/08) are as follows:

House conferees appointed: Reps. Stilwell and Koch
House advisors appointed: Reps. Battles and Lutz
Representative Grubb appointed as House advisor
Senate conferees appointed: Sens. Hershman and Lewis
Senate advisors appointed: Sens. Wyss and R. Young

HB 1280 as introduced set out procedures for energy efficient buildings. In the Senate Energy and Environmental Affairs Committee, the bill was amended to require the Environmental Quality Service Council (EQSC) to study whether public entities should be required or encouraged to seek to achieve energy and environmental design ratings in the construction and renovation of buildings and structures. Sen. Gard, Chairman of the Senate Energy and Environmental Affairs Committee, agreed to allow HB 1280 to go to a conference committee to allow parties an opportunity to continue to work on compromise language to address concerns expressed by the Indiana hardwood lumber industry.

Thus far, only House conferees and advisors for HB 1280 have been appointed as follows:

House conferees appointed: Reps. Pierce and Wolkins
House advisors appointed: Reps. Austin and Friend

Stay tuned for the next episode of the "Twilight Zone"!