NEWS

Brothers push backyard wind power
The Dayton Daily News,
June 11, 2007
www.daytondailynews.com

Steve and Joe Jefferis are selling wind turbines for the common landowner.

GREENVILLE — For brothers Steve and Joe Jefferis, their Skystream backyard wind turbine is just the thing for renewable energy advocates who happen to live on a few acres with unobstructed views.

It costs $12,000 to $15,000 to install, including a concrete tower base and trench digging. It can generate up to 80 percent of a home's needs and even turn the electric meter "backward," which would require a utility to pay the homeowner for power contributed to the larger electric grid, the network of power lines and subsystems that delivers energy to users.

The brothers, who are the first retail dealers in the area for Skystream, earned a $7.50 credit from Dayton Power & Light in the turbine's first month of use. Three customers are lined up to install the systems, the Jefferises said.

The unit produces power in wind as light as 8 mph and hits its peak with wind speeds of 20 mph. It would take a wind force in excess of 140 mph to knock it out, or wind speeds found in a significant tornado.

The turbine towers over a 90-acre farm at 1861 Stingley Road. The brothers said they intend to use at least some of the profits from their business to restore the farm's historic buildings.

In February, Gov. Ted Strickland and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, who directs the Ohio Department of Development, made $5 million in grants available for the Ohio Wind Production and Manufacturing Incentive. That's an initiative for larger scale efforts such as utility projects and community or institutional programs such as schools.

For the backyard wind energy enthusiasts, there's the Residential Renewable Energy Incentive program.

Only customers of investor-owned utilities qualify, said Sherry Hubbard, outreach manager with the Ohio Energy Office. Customers can get up to 50 percent of the cost to install a wind turbine — not to exceed $25,000 — in a grant from the state.

The state also offers a low-interest loan through participating banks for the remainder of the costs.

Second National Bank in Greenville, Farmers and Merchants Bank in Miamisburg, and First Financial Bank in Hamilton support the residential renewable power program, as does Fifth Third Bank and Huntington National Bank.

Southwest Ohio has plenty of room for more wind power. Dayton Power & Light spokesman Tom Tatham said 11 wind turbines are connected to the grid in the utility's 24-county service area. All are in Montgomery, Greene and Darke counties.

The turbines are of varying sizes but in total can generate 100 kilowatts — the needs of one fast-food restaurant, Tatham said.

Generally, the turbines are used as a supplemental power source, he said.