|
Helping the Average Guy Make a Green Impact
In early 2008, I started performing major research on the feasibility of residential scale wind turbine power and solar energy in Pennsylvania.
The results were rather disappointing since the sun index is rather low here, and although there were some good areas for wind, the overall cost to install such a system to meet all or most of a homes energy needs exceeded $120,000 and would take 15 to 20 years to get paid back. Granted, you would get paid back, but this did not leave me with an easy proposal to hand to a homeowner, who's entire home value may be equal to or double the cost of the proposed renewable energy system.
I stepped back for a moment and realized that on a residential scale, mass production had not really caught up, leaving too many things very expensive, and so what I should do instead is help people see how they can save energy during the next few years and help them reduce their monthly energy needs. By learning how to stop wasting energy, any future renewable energy system for the home could be reduced in size, further cutting back its installed cost.
I placed my finding and ideas in a book called 'The Rewards of Making Energy-Efficient Choices : Experience The Benefits of Being Green' which has just been released from our publisher and available on my web sites and well as though Amazon.com and other book resellers.
Since having written the book, Pennsylvania has added tax incentives to help reduce the costs of renewable energy systems, but they are still on the higher end, plus, since I am helping people do what is most practical and not just what appears fashionable, there are still many issues to be resolved with residential renewable energy systems.
 Unless you live in an area with a lot of land and with either a good sized roof facing south - southwest, many wind turbine power or solar energy options just don't apply, whether you can afford it or not. The lifesaver for residential scale renewable energy is coming since the design of some VAWT's (Vertical Axis Wind Turbines) are becoming more powerful and more residential friendly. These wind turbines don't require acres of land and can be utilized by almost any homeowner that has a avg wind speed of 10 to 12 mph.
Still, many people will be left out of the renewable energy loop because of home style, home position, home location, they rent, have financial issues, etc. So now my goal is to provide a way for anyone to generate renewable energy, regardless of their homes setup or if the own or rent-- and i do have an answer.
The answer is large scale wind farms on the mountain peaks of Pennsylvania that are owned by stockholders that can't create renewable energy of their own but still want to be a part of knowing they are generating carbon free energy.
I recently visited a wind farm nearby and was blown away by the scale of it, and it helped to provide me with an even clearer vision of my goal and reminded me that anything is possible. There are many paths to follow to make this a reality and I don't know what many of them are right now, but a year ago, I didn't know how to publish a book, and now I am a published author. Nothing is beyond our reach if we choose to diligently pursue it.
I look forward to any input, constructive or not since all information has some value. My first goal is to establish the base of investors that helps to get the ball rolling and gets the corp setup. All who are interested are welcome to contact me through my web site at http://www.energyefficientchoices.com
Meanwhile, I will post our progress here. The overall goal is to invite thousands of individuals to buy their share of the wind farm and help them take their places as creators of renewable energy.
More from Pickens Community Blog |
Pickens Community Blog Spotlight