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small wind Success StoriesCase Studies Small Wind Turbine Keeps Ohio Local Business Afloat
Victory Farm, Ohio - Robert Howard, CEO of a chemical processing business, is also a creative entrepreneur who put wind power to work for his sideline businesses. The Jacobs wind turbine he put up in 1993 on a 135-foot tower provides electricity for his state-of-the-art shrimp farm. “The small wind turbine powers the whole site, which includes a 10,000 square-foot barn. We were located at the end of the power grid and our power was down a lot,” says Howard. The winds in central Ohio pick up in September and blow through May, a period when electricity demand is high at the shrimp farm. The wind turbine, originally a stand-alone unit now connected to the grid, is the perfect solution. Howard began
studying wind power while in China in the 1980’s. “I kept
reading about advances in renewable energy. I realized I
His wind turbine went up without a hitch. But six months later, a resident upset about his turbine sued the township. When Howard found out the individual lived two miles away, he let the naysayer know in no uncertain terms that he thought the suit ridiculous. It was soon dropped. During the first year of operation a hunter shot holes in the blades. Howard was not deterred. Relying upon his original tower, he boosted the turbine’s generating capacity from 12 to 18 kilowatts while retrofitting it. His insurance covered the cost of replacing the parts. He then refurbished the 12 kW turbine and donated it to Glacier Ridge Metro Park, where it now powers a restroom and information center. Howard eventually sold his shrimp farm, but he still uses the 18 kW wind turbine, as well as a solar photovoltaic array and an 18kW fuel cell, to power his own home and Victory Farm, which produces perch, shiitake mushrooms and eggs. Howard’s neighborhood has evolved from a rural area to one of the most upscale communities in central Ohio. “The fellow who owns the local Limited is my neighbor. He thinks the small wind turbine is totally cool,” reports Howard. Howard’s claim to fame among local energy activists is that he was the first small wind turbine owner in American Electric Power’s Ohio service territory to take advantage of net metering. It took a couple of lawsuits, but he now receives a credit of 10 cents per kilowatt-hour for the wind-generated electricity he puts on the grid. Howard is so enamored with renewable energy that he donated a 400 Watt Southwest Windpower turbine to the Columbus Academy, a K-12 prep school his daughter attends. The turbine is just one of several renewable energy technologies that power the school’s science department. “My interest in wind power was driven by my heart,” he concludes. “I wanted to do the right thing. Now, when my kids flip the switch, they know where their power comes from. It’s homegrown!”
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