Energy concerns blow wind plan into county

Couple seeking turbine to generate electricity

Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Submitted photo Swan Point resident Ken Robinson hopes to erect a 33-foot-tall wind turbine on property he and his wife, Sheryl Elliott, own on a point of land in Newburg where Cuckold Creek and the Potomac River merge. The windmill would be erected just to the right of the pier located at the end of the point. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

Swan Point resident Ken Robinson and his wife, Sheryl Elliott, are serious about saving energy dollars and finding an alternative way to power their home and the couple is sinking $20,000 into a project to make that wish a reality.

Robinson and Elliott, who have lived in the Swan Point subdivision near Issue for seven years, decided a little more than a year ago to contact Potomac Wind Energy in Dickerson to find out what they would need to do to erect a 33-foot-tall wind turbine on a one-acre piece of property they own adjacent to their home beside the Potomac River.

The land is ideal for operating the windmill, Robinson said, adding that the wind turbine would be about 300 feet from the couple's home.

"There's no better place to put it," he said. "The land is on Cuckold Creek where it meets the Potomac. The wind conditions are quite optimum for a wind turbine. We got the idea after we read about the new technology. We knew that that spot of land would be a good place for it."

Robinson said that the wind power firm did a site assessment regarding the project last December and the company determined that the spot of land would be an excellent site for a windmill.

The wind turbine, which would sit on a 6-foot-by-6-foot concrete base, would be directly in line with the two smokestacks at Mirant Mid-Atlantic LLC's gas-powered electricity generating plant in Morgantown, Robinson said.

"It would be a very obvious distinction between the old and new technology and clean versus dirty technology," he said.

The windmill would be simple in design with only three blades at the top to generate wind power to generate electricity, Robinson said.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $20,000, he said.

"It's an investment, but somebody needs to be the first to do it," he said, adding he and his wife received some financial help from state and federal government programs to do the project.

The Maryland Energy Administration's Windswept Grant program provided a $4,500 grant toward the project and the federal government will provide a $2,000 tax credit for the installation of the windmill, Robinson said.

The wind turbine will generate enough energy to shave on average 25 to 40 percent off the couple's Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative bill, Robinson said. If the windmill produces more than what the couple needs SMECO will give them a credit on their electricity bill, he said.

So far, the couple's neighbors have been supportive of the project, including Debbie and Fred Schenkel who live on Cuckold's Road across from Swan Point Marina.

"We live on the creek and we can see their property from our house," Debbie Schenkel said. "I don't think that the windmill will be an obstruction to our view. We need alternative energy and this is a good opportunity for Charles County to get on board."

Schenkel said that she and her husband are curious to see how the Charles County Board of Zoning and Appeals will react to the request to obtain a variance so that the windmill can be erected.

Robinson, who was appointed to serve on the board in August, will recuse himself from the public hearing next week and a subsequent work session regarding the request, he said.

"We're very anxious to find out what the results will be," Schenkel said. "We might be interested in doing something similar. We want Ken to pave the way."

"We're not aware of any opposition to the project," Robinson said, adding that several of his neighbors have expressed interest in erecting similar windmills at the end of their piers in Swan Point. "We've only received support so far."

The wind turbine will be exceptionally quiet, Robinson said, comparing the sound to the hum of a refrigerator.

SMECO has already reviewed the project for safety and reliability, said Tom Dennison, spokesman. The windmill is the first one to be erected in the electric cooperative's service area, he said.

"Erecting a windmill is consistent with the Maryland Public Service Commission's guidelines on renewable energy projects," he said. "We encourage people to look into the technology of renewable energy. It's our intent to work with customers to help them with such projects."

SMECO will install a new electric meter on the couple's house if the board of appeals approves the variance, Robinson said.

"When there's enough energy generated by the windmill the meter will actually go backwards," he said, adding that the extra kilowatts of energy will not go back into the electricity grid.

If approved, the windmill will hopefully be operational by the first of the year, Robinson said. "We're at a crossroads in terms of this country being absolutely energy independent," he said. "It's important to find alternative and clean means of generating energy."

nmcconaty@somdnews.com