From ECO, the Environmental and Conservation Organization:

With energy costs rising fast and Duke Power planning to raise its rates once again, many local folks are looking for more sustainable answers. What about wind power? Small-scale wind power is a local resource for clean energy that can be harvested with minimal investment other than finding an appropriate wind site and a willingness to put some time and work equity into it. Unlike large, utility-scale wind turbines, smaller turbines are unobtrusive, relatively simple, and within the ability of homeowners, farmers, and small businesses to develop.

ECO, the Environmental and Conservation Organization, is offering a special workshop on low cost wind power on Tuesday, November 15th at 6:30 PM featuring energy expert Richard Freudenberger. According to Freudenberger, “A 1,500 watt wind turbine can be built for a cost of about $450, not including labor. A comparably sized commercial wind turbine would cost about $11,600 installed. Wind is a sustainable, renewable, and clean form of energy that has been used in rural communities for over 100 years to pump water and generate remote electricity.” Although not all areas of our region are ideally suited for wind power, there are sufficient sites to warrant construction of small turbines with rotor blades no larger than 10 or 12 feet in diameter, which are ideal for generating useable energy, particularly in banks of two or three, or in combination with solar-electric photovoltaic panels.

This workshop will cover the basics of wind energy, siting strategies, cost breakdowns, and the fundamentals of building your own 1,500-watt wind turbine from scrap steel, salvaged auto parts, and permanent magnets from mail-order suppliers, using common workshop tools. Also discussed will be federal and state renewable energy credits and Henderson County special-use zoning permits. The instructor will go over the procedures of fabrication and assembly in step-by-step fashion and discuss the tools needed to bring the project to completion. Resource handouts will also be provided for further reference and development.

Richard Freudenberger is the former Director of the Mother Earth News research department and is currently Publisher of BackHome Magazine.

He is adjunct faculty member at Blue Ridge Community College and has been involved with biofuels and renewable energy for over thirty years.

Given the expected demand for this course, pre-registration is required as class size is extremely limited. A registration fee of $15 will help support ECO’s continuing work to encourage green energy and sustainability. The workshop is being held on Tuesday, November 15th at 6:30 pm at the ECO Office, 121 Third Ave West, Hendersonville. To register for this important workshop, please contact ECO at (828) 692-0385 or email us at eco@eco-wnc.org.