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small wind Success StoriesCase Studies Wind Turbine Owners Rebuild after Hurricane Bob
Block Island, Rhode Island - Verna and Everett Littlefield didn’t hesitate to put up a new small wind turbine after Hurricane Bob destroyed their first one, a 10 kW Jacobs they installed at their Rhode Island home in 1981. The Littlefields live on Block Island, just 14 miles from the Atlantic Coast. “If you paid the electricity bills around
here, you would know why we installed our small wind turbines,”
comments Verna, who says the average cost of electricity
was 29 cents per kilowatt-hour. The 10 kw Bergey Excel they
put up after the 1991 storm has proven surprisingly low-maintenance,
requiring only one blade change over the past 12 years.
“Maybe Hurricane Bob did us a favor,” jokes Verna. The Littlefields did not encounter any zoning or height restrictions for their 80-foot tower. Operating in winds that average above 17 mph, the Bergey has generated from 50 to 60 percent of their total electricity needs. “If we had net metering, I’m sure our electricity bills would be virtually zero,” Everett said. During winter, the wind blows steadily and the Littlefields use every bit of electricity that the wind generator puts out. “We also get on-shore winds virtually every afternoon in the summer,” says Everett. Neither small wind turbine raised eyebrows when the Littlefields applied for permits. “People didn’t know much about wind turbines back then and nobody was against them. Now, there are plenty of folks around here worried about their so-called ‘view sheds.’ Their attitude seems to be: ‘I want my property the way I want it, but that doesn’t mean you can do what you want!’” One neighbor who purchased a summer residence
nearby moved out after the second wind turbine went up. “He moved out in a huff,” says Everett. “But he ended up
buying a new place right next to the local dump, where he
has to listen to the noise of trucks in the middle of the
night. Served him right,” he says with a chuckle. Success Stories Home | Small Wind Home _______________________________________________________________
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