Salina Journal
Clear back in the late 1970s, Richard Nelson installed solar panels to heat the water in his new swimming pool. A few years later, he installed another solar system to provide power for a greenhouse.
So it might be no surprise that today, Nelson is out in front on the latest alternative energy trend. He's the first person in Saline County to apply for one of the new permits to install a wind turbine on his land at 4523 N. Ohio.
"I'd read about them on the Internet and looking at the technology, and seen them at the farm show," Nelson said, adding that the technology has been getting better in recent years.
What gave him the final push, Nelson said, was a recent increase in his electric bill. He'd long heated his home with wood, but knew that as he got older, he might want a backup system. He had a heat-pump installed, which increased his electric bill.
The wind turbine he's installing is the same model as shown at the farm show this past spring, a Skystream 3.7, made by Arizona-based Southwest Windpower.
The turbine, with its 12-foot blades, will sit atop a 33-foot pole, which is designed to not need any guy-wires.
It's designed to start producing energy when the wind gets to about 8 mph, Nelson said. When the wind gets to 35 mph, it starts slowing itself down, and it shuts down completely at about 60 mph, to keep high winds from spinning the blades too fast and damaging the system.
"You're making less electricity at 35 miles per hour than you are at 30," he said.
Because his home is located on a rise, he expects the turbine to be turning most of the time.
Cutting his electric bill
He expects the turbine, which will cost him about $15,000, to provide enough power to cut about a third off his electric bill.
"If it's a good windy night, and I'm not running the air-conditioner, I can sell some back to Westar," Nelson said.
"It won't pay back in my lifetime, but it will be here for somebody else to purchase, and it means less power coming off the grid, less coal, less nuclear or whatever," he said.
He's not the only one
Though Nelson is the first to apply for a wind turbine permit, about a half-dozen people have expressed an interest over the past year, said County Planning and Zoning Director Vicki Koepsel.
She started drafting rules last year. At the time, wind turbines were allowed by conditional use permit, a process that included a $150 application fee and required approval by the planning and zoning commission, a process that takes at least two months. Now that turbines are included in the zoning code, it's a much simpler process.
The Saline County Commission unanimously approved the changes to the county's zoning code just three weeks ago. The rules apply only in unincorporated parts of the county.
Among the rules:
n One turbine is allowed on a lot smaller than 80 acres.
n The total height cannot exceed 200 feet, a Federal Aviation Administration requirement, Koepsel said.
n Towers must be set back from the property line at least 1.5 times the height of the tower.
Additionally, Koepsel said, "existing nuisance ordinances will apply, things like noise and flicker. They have to be maintained, and not get squeaky or start thumping."
In drafting the ordinance, Koepsel said, "I looked at model ordinances from around the country and pared them down, simplified the rules so they work for this county."
n Reporter Mike Strand can be reached at 822-1418 or by e-mail at mstrand@salina.com.
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