Catching the wind to use for power

When Peter Hark walks outside his house, just watching the blades turn on his new wind turbine gives him a sense of satisfaction that has little to do with shrinking his electricity bill.

Hark and his wife, Mary Jo Cristofaro-Hark, expect to generate much of their own power by harnessing the breeze, but they estimate it could be 25 years before they recoup the $35,000 it cost to erect the 115-foot turbine and a set of solar panels on their 10-acre hobby farm in northern Rice County.
"In the long run, we might break even," said Hark, who is among a growing number of Minnesotans who have invested in "small wind," an industry tag for turbines rated at less than 100 kilowatts.

For Hark and many other small turbine owners, spinning the blades isn't primarily about saving money. Instead, customers ranging from dairy farmers to the School of Environmental Studies in Apple Valley are buying them as a way to make a hands-on contribution to the environment while spreading the word about wind power.

"It doesn't necessarily make good economic sense. It makes great environmental sense," said Clare Palmquist, who installed a wind turbine in December with her husband, Dean Marshik, on their fifth-generation dairy farm in Pierz in central Minnesota.

Roughly 7,000 Americans bought small wind systems in 2006, and the industry has grown by 14 to 25 percent a year since 1990, according to the American Wind Energy Association. In Minnesota, Wind Turbine Industries, a Prior Lake manufacturer, has seen annual sales of its 20-kilowatt turbines -- which generate enough electricity for two or three homes -- go from half a dozen a decade ago to nearly 50 in 2007.

"Small wind is the major factor in raising public acceptance of renewable energy," said Ron Stimmel, an advocate with the American Wind Energy Association. "It's the same statement as having a flagpole in your yard."

Many of the Prior Lake turbines go to farmers in Minnesota and nearby states, but perhaps a third are exported to destinations such as Northern Ireland and Italy, Turek said.

And buyers increasingly include rural residents who have at least an acre of land and ample wind to turn the blades on the turbines, which are much smaller than the behemoths found on commercial wind farms.

The company's recent prospective wind turbine customers have even included a bank in Appleton.

But obstacles remain, notably cost: The 20-kilowatt Prior Lake model, for example, can run a farmer nearly $75,000, including all expenses, Wogstad said.

And it can take anywhere from six to 30 years for an owner to recoup the cost of a turbine, the American Wind Energy Association estimates -- a formidable challenge when the average U.S. homeowner sells every six years.

Small wind turbines also struggle to produce electricity as cheaply as their 250-foot, 2-megawatt cousins. A commercial wind plant can generate electricity for less than a nickel a kilowatt-hour, but that price is more like 10 or 11 cents for small wind, according to the association.

"The small machines have rarely been all that cost-effective unless you're in a remote location where you can't get the power lines," said Lisa Daniels, executive director of Minnesota-based Windustry, an advocacy group.

The high cost of small turbines is partly due to lower production volumes, but also because small wind is one of the only energy technologies that does not benefit from federal assistance, said Stimmel.

Wind advocates hope that new turbine designs and increased demand will push prices down.

They're also pushing for a 30 percent federal investment tax credit to help buyers offset the cost of the turbines.

Cost, the relatively poor quality of Twin Cities wind and stricter zoning rules in urban areas mean that it's still far easier for most Minnesotans interested in wind power to take advantage of a state law that requires utility companies to give customers the option of buying renewable energy.

But some wind advocates, including Daniels, would like to see that law revised so that rate payers who check the green energy box on their utility bills could, for example, put that money toward locally owned wind projects.

And for some Minnesotans, business and geographic factors align enough to make a turbine realistic.

Palmquist and Marshik, the dairy farmers from Pierz, hope to receive a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant that would offset part of the turbine's cost.

In Minnesota, a state law also requires power companies to pay turbine owners the retail value of any extra electricity their wind turbines produce for the grid.

Regardless of the payback, "there's something about it that's very satisfying and personal" about owning a turbine, said Hark.

He added that perhaps 30 people have stopped by his farm to ask questions about his 10-kilowatt turbine.

Sarah Lemagie • 952-882-9016