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small wind Success StoriesCustomer Interviews
Tehachapi Mountains, CA – “I always saw the wind as a negative. I wanted to turn it into a positive,” said Patrick Campbell, proud owner of a 10 kW Bergey wind turbine that he installed on a remote ridge in the Tehachapi Mountains, one of California’s best wind farming sites. “I have a deep well on top of a hill and I was looking for ways to cut my energy costs. Here we had these terrible winds, a resource that was just going unused. I am the only one who lives on this ridge and for eight years I just watched the wind blow.” Thanks to the California Energy Commission’s emerging renewables “buy-down” program, his initial installation costs were cut almost in half. He received $18,000 from the Energy Commission for a project whose total installation price is $40,000 (which includes the cost of excavation work.) The goal of the $54 million buy-down program is to entice state consumers to add 20,000 small wind, solar PV, solar thermal electric and fuel cell systems to California’s grid by the end of 2002. Recent spikes in electricity prices have greatly increased the appeal of these clean sources of on-site electricity. “My electricity bills averaged $240/month before I installed the system,” continued Campbell. “When we get a lot of wind – during the winter and spring and fall – the wind turbines produce up to 80 percent of my electricity – reducing my power bill to 50 to 70 bucks. During the summer, the wind turbines still generate about half of my electricity and my bills average about $120. There have been a few months where I actually paid nothing to the utility for my electricity. I loved that feeling.” Given the current run-up in natural gas and wholesale electricity prices, Campbell feels a lot more secure knowing he has an independent source of clean electricity located right on his own property. “I think we are all going to be in for a big shock because we are still so dependent upon fossil fuels. Those who are prepared with their own wind, solar or other renewable energy systems will do a lot better than those totally dependent upon the grid.” Excerpt from "Small Wind Turbines Cheapest Peak Electricity Supply" By Peter Asmus
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