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small wind
Success Stories
Customer
Interviews
Kern County, CA
Tehachapi, CA - David Colley has seen
a 30-50% decrease in his electricity
bills since installing a 10kW Bergey turbine in March 2001. Colley lives
in an all-electric house built by his parents in 1979. Despite taking various measures to make his home more
energy efficient, Colley’s electricity consumption ranged from 1,200-2,562 kWh/month. With Southern California Edison’s recent rate increases and
5-tiered rate structure, Colley found himself paying anywhere from
$150 per month in the summer to as much as $465 per month during the coldest winter months.
Nestled among the hills on a 2.5-acre property, the Colley house is cooled in summer by the winds that blow fairly constantly year-round. Why not, thought David Colley, take advantage of those winds to generate electricity? Permitting was not an obstacle. Colley’s neighbors were comfortable with the installation, which consists of a 10 kW turbine on an 80-ft. guyed tower (pole), erected on a hill about 80 feet from the house. The installation itself presented no problems. The first storm shut down the system because of damage to the inverter box; the manufacturer (Trace) responded quickly, repairing the inverter at no charge and building a protective box around it.
During its first year of operation, Colley’s small wind system cut his winter electricity bills by about $150-$200/month. With the California Energy Commission’s 50% rebate and the state tax credit, Colley estimates that his wind turbine will pay for itself within seven years or less.
Photo by Hank Zevallos, STS
Article: The Installation of a Residential Wind System by Hank Zevallos
For additional information, contact Hank Zevallos at STS, 661-822-0514 or hank@stswind.com
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