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small wind Success StoriesCustomer Interviews
Oak Hills, CA – Fortunately for Gus Sansone, San Bernadino County staff were willing to negotiate details that could have made the difficult task of permitting his 10kW wind turbine much more expensive. Sansone first teamed up with other small wind enthusiasts to get the county supervisor to lower the permitting fee from $1,200 to $500. Then Sansone had to negotiate with the county assessor, who said his wind turbine would be taxed at its total installed value. Sansone eventually got the county assessment reduced by about half. The process took a lot of time and effort, but Sansone praises the county staff. County zoning restrictions limited the height of Sansone’s turbine tower to 60 feet, and setback requirements prevented him from putting the tower on high ground near the edge of his lot. (Sansone’s property was smaller than the five-acre minimum that would have allowed a tower of 80 feet.) But again, Sansone got a break. He was eventually permitted to extend the tower to 80 feet for a $150 fee. He estimates the additional height is increasing the generation from his 10-kilowatt machine as much as 25%, based on the experience of other local wind turbine owners. For Sansone, the result is a reduction in power bills from $100 per month to $0. Sansone’s energy costs typically are higher in the summer, when he and his wife and grandchildren use the pool and jacuzzi. Although the high desert winds typically blow more over the winter months, Sansone’s net metering agreement with Edison enables him to bank his surplus power from the windy season against his higher summer consumption. If he uses more power than he’s generated over the course of a year, he pays Edison for the difference; if he has surplus power in his account at the end of the year, the utility claims it. In addition to not having to pay for electricity he was able to cut his propane costs over the winter by supplementing his propane-fired heating system with electric room heaters in the bathrooms and master bedroom. He and his wife are considering replacing their gas dryer with an electric one to take further advantage of their wind resource.
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