Dominion Virginia Power will buy back electricity created by a windmill.

I thought about doing this. However.....it costs over $40,000.00 to set up a windmill to do this.

That's a lot of money. It would take a long time to earn back the money spent on setting up a windmill.

I'd have to start from scratch because I think that my windmill would need too much work/repairs to produce electricity.

I guess that I forgot to mention that there is an old windmill on my property near my pump house. I don't know how old it is.

Are they talking about the large white windmills? Or the do-it-yourself variety?

There's been a major issue with tourism in my area in regards to windmills. There are some around, but most places ban them because they are deemed 'ugly' and mar the view of the bays.

Good grief people gripe about needing alternative power then they gripe when they have to look at an 'eyesore' while driving down the road!

The pictures I have seen look similar to my windmill. Mine is very tall and it is a silvery white color. My windmill looks like the ones you've seen in movies (Westerns).

My windmill is next to one of Mom's fields. I think it was hooked up with Delco to produce electricity years ago before electricity was widely available in rural areas. My house is on the grounds of a daffodil farm. Now you know why I sneeze so much in the Spring; I'm allergic to daffodil pollen.

we have three Windmills up on the mountain they are very tall the U of NC . put them up there..  we buy the power from we use in farming ..

When I was a child we had a windmill that provided the water for the pump ..

that pump in my front yard when Daddy put power out to the pump I insisted we bring it home ... it just a piece of Texas I have here .. I love our old mill ...

 Michelle, it has been the same in Vt. about windmills. They want an alternative but cant hurt the view. Babs

Right now WI users of Xcel Energy (based out of Twin Cities, MN) have the option of using some of the wind energy that is already established in "wind farms" in 3 other states (I think its in MN, SD, ND). And the money will go towards future ones. However, the bill per year would be raised by $1200 per user. I like the concept but not the price tag!!

 

I've seen a couple of windmill farms. One north of Denver out in the open prairie and one here in central NY at the Tug Hill Plateau. I actually went up to one that was 300 feet tall and touched it. Short of sounding corny, it was a mystical experience. They aren't any uglier than those huge power lines, or power poles that run through everyone's neighborhood or those small rocking contraptions that drill for oil. You can buy kits for small ones for about $10,000 and if I hit the big times, I would have one. However, dealing with local zoning and neighbors would compel me to live in an isolated location.

There is a windmill farm along a high ridge of hills here near SF. They are the gigantic white ones with the blade span of about 25', I think. Not something an ordinary citizen could maintan. I think they are very beautiful and almost majestic but that's just me.

What I want to do, is set up a vertical turbine kind of wind power generator. From the research I've done they are more "affordable", maybe $8-$12K but there are issues for me with maintenance, uglyness, and most of all noise- a constant hum makes my head hurt. I have no doubt I have enough wind to keep it running most of the time (all my whirligigs broke from too much wind) but I may have too much wind (too fast) and I don't have the skills to maintain it myself.

See if they allow vertical turbines, they can be attached to a roof line or poles. Here is one link to a company. Please note I am not endorsing them, just giving you an idea of what I'm referring to.

http://www.mariahpower.com/windspire-technology.aspx

Yes, they are expensive, but I believe I read on MotherEarthNews.com that payback time for the smaller turbines can be as low as 5-6 years.  Unfortunately, at this time, our county does not allow turbines - but it was just decided that the county's decision is invalid because it's too generic, overrides our state mandate, etc.  So we'll see how it goes.

Dh and I have talked about this.  We'd love to live "off the grid" ... and would probably do it if we had a hybrid wind turbine / solar system.  He even found the perfect place today - small cabin on plenty of acreage.  Too bad it's almost twice what we could afford.