For several years I have wanted to install a wind turbine to mitigate my impact on global warming even more. For the past 18 months, I waited patiently for our local alternative energy company, Earth Turbines, to ready their product for market. Faced with ongoing delays while they perfect their technology I decided to go instead with a 10 kilowatt Bergey wind turbine.

Step one in the process is clearing the site where the turbine will be installed. That took much of my weekend. (There is something cathartic about clearing land. I always experience a degree of absolute physical exhaustion that is uncharacteristic of any other type of exercise.)

The next step in the process is permitting. Vermont has been sadly hostile to wind power, though residential turbines are much simpler to get approved than commercial installations. Recently a new law was passed that guarantees any electricity generated by a residential turbine must be purchased by the local utility at $.20 a kilowatt hour. This is called net-metering, and it’s not a bad deal considering that here in Vermont we pay between $.10 and $.13 for the energy we purchase. Solar gets an even better deal at $.30 a kilowatt hour.

Well, I’ve made the rounds to talk with my neighbors about the project, most of whom seemed pretty enthusiastic. They will have the option of objecting to my permit application, but they all have pledged their support. Now I’ve got to wait between 30 and 60 days while the town processes the application.

My turbine will cost about $50,000 before rebates and tax credits. There is a cash incentive grant worth $12,500, which lowers the net cost to $37,500; and then a 30% federal tax credit that will further reduce the cost to about $25,000. I expect the turbine will generate at least 8,000 kilowatts a year. If I sell all the energy to the grid, it will generate about $1,600. That means that it will take about 15 years to break even on my investment — unless the wind blows harder or the tax credits go up! Stay tuned…

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