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Another wind turbine rises in Columbia County
Feb 22, 2011 6:38 am
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="A wind turbine of the sort put up on a farm in Gallatin recently, as seen on the Hudson Valley Wind Energy website."]
[/caption]Jamie Larson of the Register-Star has an evocative story up about how the Sky Acres Angus Farm, off rural Route 7 in the rural Columbia County town of Gallatin, put up a new wind turbine last Friday, Feb. 18 after 18 months of planning and zoning approval, a grant from the state and a little neighbor to neighbor diplomacy. Finally, Mason writes, farmer Ray Wendover was able to put his 140 foot windmill up with the aid of a neighbor, Douglas Passeri and his crew from Hudson Valley Wind Energy. This is the second turbine installed by Passeri and his son Douglas Jr. who also live in Gallatin. Friday, they were being assisted by consulting installers from Alternative Power Solutions. The farm, with its long open view of the surrounding hills, enjoys an average wind speed of around 9 mph but it can get much faster in a hurry. The turbine only needs a wind speed of 7.2 mph to get going and can store energy from windier days to make up for the calmer ones. The Wendovers, Mason points out, are only permitted by law to yield 110 percent of their electrical needs from the turbine which they sell to the utility company at wholesale for processing and then buy back at retail. “I don’t want to be dependent on other people,” said Ray Wendover, whose main business is running Wendover Landscaping out of Dutchess County. “This whole farm is so I can retire some day and have no bills.” Wendover received roughly $16,000 from the Department of Agriculture and Markets for the turbine through former congressman Scott Murphy’s office. The New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA) also offsets the cost somewhat by providing incentives for wind energy companies.
[/caption]Jamie Larson of the Register-Star has an evocative story up about how the Sky Acres Angus Farm, off rural Route 7 in the rural Columbia County town of Gallatin, put up a new wind turbine last Friday, Feb. 18 after 18 months of planning and zoning approval, a grant from the state and a little neighbor to neighbor diplomacy. Finally, Mason writes, farmer Ray Wendover was able to put his 140 foot windmill up with the aid of a neighbor, Douglas Passeri and his crew from Hudson Valley Wind Energy. This is the second turbine installed by Passeri and his son Douglas Jr. who also live in Gallatin. Friday, they were being assisted by consulting installers from Alternative Power Solutions. The farm, with its long open view of the surrounding hills, enjoys an average wind speed of around 9 mph but it can get much faster in a hurry. The turbine only needs a wind speed of 7.2 mph to get going and can store energy from windier days to make up for the calmer ones. The Wendovers, Mason points out, are only permitted by law to yield 110 percent of their electrical needs from the turbine which they sell to the utility company at wholesale for processing and then buy back at retail. “I don’t want to be dependent on other people,” said Ray Wendover, whose main business is running Wendover Landscaping out of Dutchess County. “This whole farm is so I can retire some day and have no bills.” Wendover received roughly $16,000 from the Department of Agriculture and Markets for the turbine through former congressman Scott Murphy’s office. The New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA) also offsets the cost somewhat by providing incentives for wind energy companies.