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Rooftop wind turbine seen as green energy starter kit
By Shelley Widhalm
Loveland Reporter-Herald

If the power fails in Loveland, Wesley Baldassare knows that his refrigerator and heater still will work. Baldassare, a home improvement contractor, installed a home wind turbine on his roof Wednesday after showing it off at a few area home and garden shows. The turbine uses wind energy to produce power for his home.

“This is designed as a starter kit for green energy,” he said. “It’s designed to go on the roof, which makes it practical for homeowners.” Baldassare is a Colorado and Wyoming dealer for Windenergy7, a green energy company out of Ohio. He started selling and installing the wind and solar turbine systems in February.

“It is possible for many homeowners to produce their own green energy, which would not be possible with the larger pole-mounted systems that cannot be installed in many residential neighborhoods,” Baldassare said.

Baldassare knows of only one major company that sells rooftop generators, and it is out of Europe, he said. “This is the product of the future,” he said. “We need to, as a country, become independent of foreign oil.”

Homeowners can opt for a roof-mount turbine kit, which starts at $2,990, and add solar panels later as an upgrade or buy a combined wind-solar hybrid kit. They can add turbines to generate and store more energy to power additional areas of the home.

The wind and the wind-solar turbines can be used off the electrical grid, or for an additional cost be hooked into the grid, as long as the power company approves, Baldassare said. The grid converters add another $1,500 to the cost of the unit, he said.

Hooking into the grid can, over time, provide cost savings, because the turbine can generate extra power beyond what is used and the power company provides a credit for that power, Baldassare said.

“Your house is totally powered by the grid, but you’re adding your electricity to it,” Baldassare said. “You have to, by law and code, have an automatic shutoff. You don’t want power to come back through the lines.”

Baldassare uses his turbine off the grid, so when the unit generates energy, it charges a battery pack he stores in his garage, he said. He uses a circuit separator to operate his refrigerator, fan for the heater and some of the lights in his home, he said. The refrigerator, fan and lights are hooked to the battery pack instead of the power box, he said.

“If it’s off grid, the turbine generates electricity, and it goes through a charger convertor ... to charge the batteries,” Baldassare said.

Baldassare said he plans to market the turbines mainly as a backup system.

“It not only saves you some electricity, it gives you power,” he said. “I don’t plan on being totally independent of power. I’m just going to save myself some money.”

The turbine qualifies for a 30 percent tax credit for green energy.



Minneapolis International Airport Installs Wind Generators
May 15th, 2009 (My comments are mixed in with an article published by Alternative Energy.) Ok. It isn't much but it moves in the right direction. If we keep moving, we'll get there.

These days many companies are exhibiting awareness of clean and green energy and using that technology to reduce costs too. Recently Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport set up ten wind-powered electricity generators. They are using the energy to power an electric utility vehicle. We are acquainted with the fact that airports are windy places. So a knowledgeable management is using this resource boosting its environmental credentials as they reduce fuel costs. They have installed ten 1 kW Aerovironment wind turbines on top of the airport fire station to harness the power of prevailing northwest winds. The turbines are expected to generate 10 kilowatts of electricity an hour. They are powering their fully-electric Cushman Motors e-Ride exv2 utility vehicle with the energy generated by these turbines. Their utility vehicle has a range of 45-55 miles and costs around $200 a year to run.

Jeff Hamiel, who is the Metropolitan Airports Commission director, talks about the goals and future plans, “Testing the potential of wind power and electric vehicles is part of an ongoing effort to explore cost-effective, environmentally sound alternatives in the development and operation of Metropolitan Airports Commission airports. We will monitor how well the wind-power generators and the electric vehicles perform at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to determine whether they might play a bigger role in the airport’s future.” So right now they are looking into the financial and operational viability of using wind-generated electricity to power electric vehicles at the airport. They want to reduce the fuel costs and poisonous emissions as well. If they find the whole exercise beneficial they will implement it further.

The Metropolitan Airport Commission (MAC) expects the turbines to bring down the costs of fuels. The turbines cost them USD$94,000 and have a life span of more than 20 years. Each unit has five black fan blades and a shroud to protect the blades and turbines from snow, ice and birds.

MAC launched the Stewards of Tomorrow’s Airport Resources (STAR) program in 2008. The goals of this program are to advance airport activities that are environmentally, operationally and financially sustainable.

The MAC’s new Cushman Motors e-Ride exv2 electric utility vehicle possesses a 72 volt AC motor. The vehicle will be used chiefly by parking management staff. But Mac is planning to test it for other potential uses as well. The Cushman utility vehicle is not a hybrid vehicle. It is run on entirely by electricity. So obviously it doesn’t emit exhaust and does its work silently. Its maintenance cost will be approximately $202 per year.

Jeff Hamiel shares his views and future plans by stating, “We continue to look for sustainable solutions to meet our airports’ operating needs. Testing the potential of wind power and electric vehicles is part of an ongoing effort to explore cost-effective, environmentally sound alternatives in the development and operation of MAC airports.”


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