Residential Wind Turbines

Daily Real Estate News  |  April 16, 2008Residential Wind Turbines Catching On

The next big thing among eco-minded consumers is the personal wind turbine.

An increasing number of home owners, especially in northern California and the Northeast, are attracted to wind turbines, which generate electricity —sometimes nearly enough to power an entire house. The technologically-sophisticated systems are expensive, but state tax incentives and laws that require utilities to buy excess power from residential turbines at retail rather than wholesale prices are making them more cost-effective.

”Back in the early days, off-grid electrical generation was pursued mostly by hippies and rednecks, usually in isolated, rural areas,” says Joe Schwartz, editor of Home Power magazine. ”Now, it’s a lot more mainstream.”

In some places, the neighbors aren’t too thrilled, Schwartz says. ”In urban and suburban areas, neighbors are never happy to see a 60- to 120-foot tower going up across the street.”

Source: The New York Times, John Casey (04/15/2008)