FISHERSVILLE - A spinning wind turbine has joined the fields, mountains and power lines on the bucolic skyline near Expoland in Fishersville.
J. Irvin Marshall, who owns the antebellum Red Beech Farm, said, “The farm had a windmill at one time, and now it’s going to have one again.”
But this is no ordinary windmill.
On Wednesday, Marshall, the vice president of James River Wind Energy, a subgroup of James River Equipment, erected an on-grid induction generator turbine on his property. His two goals were to offset the majority of his farm’s energy costs and to pioneer a trend of privately owned consumer retail wind turbines people can use to power their properties.
Marshall said his company will offer a “complete turnkey” operation, installing and maintaining turbines for the owners. Marshall said this means job growth, as James River Wind Energy employees and local contractors are being trained and certified to serve this potential market.
Sean Cooper of Shenandoah Tower Service said his company knows the ropes of building towers, but he and his co-workers were happy to be trained on installing a turbine.
“Wind energy is just going to grow over the years, so it’s good to get our foot in the door,” he said.
‘Not your grandfather’s windmill’
The turbine looks a lot like EVE - the sleek, white robot sidekick from Pixar’s “WALL-E” - with three additional black propellers on a huge pole secured with cables.
“This is not your grandfather’s windmill,” Marshall said.
This 5-kilowatt S-250 model from Endurance Wind Power stands about 126 feet high above Marshall’s 130-acre farm. Height is key, he said, because it means more energy from smooth, “clean” wind as opposed to the turbulent wind bouncing off buildings and through trees below.
Marshall said his farm has ample space for the rig and has a prevailing wind that “shoots all the way to Stuarts Draft” at about 12.5 to 14 mph. He expects it to provide 9,000 to 15,000 kilowatt hours per year and hopes the turbine will provide 75 percent to 90 percent of the energy used in his home and farm.
Marshall had to get a special-use permit from the Augusta County Zoning Board in order to build the turbine. At a May public hearing, Marshall reassured neighbors it wouldn’t obstruct their views or make much noise.
“So far, the neighbors have been supportive because everyone is interested in wind energy,” said zoning administrator John Wilkinson.
Wilkinson said there are about five other turbines in the county, but Marshall said this is the only one he knows of that uses an induction generator, which produces ready-to-use AC electricity that runs directly into his house and local power grid. Most other turbines generate DC power, which often gets stored in a battery and needs to be converted before it can be used, which Marshall said is inefficient.
Not for everyone
In Marshall’s net metering agreement, he’ll be free to use the energy his turbine generates. If he needs more electricity, it will come from the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative’s power grid and he’ll pay the balance each month. If he produces more energy than he uses, he may receive credits from the company.
Marshall, Wilkinson and John Coffey, vice president of engineering and operations for SVEC, say an arrangement like this requires a certain amount of free space and a constant source of wind. Plus, Marshall estimates a turbine like his can cost $40,000 to $70,000 to build.
Coffey said the SVEC sees a considerable interest in private wind and solar energy generation.
“We’ll talk to a few hundred people a year about doing that. Out of the 39,000 members we serve, only 14 have taken advantage of the net metering option,” Coffey said. “What people generally (find) is that the cost is more significant than they anticipated.”
Marshall said no one has placed an order for a turbine yet. But, “we have a few confirmed persons saying, ‘Let me see yours up first.’”
This article is provided by:
J. Irvin Marshall,
Vice President of James River Wind Energy, a subgroup of James River Equipment
www.jamesriverwindenergy.com
