Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Winds Of Change Blowing In West Allis

Urban, backyard wind turbines in West Allis? Why not?

Posted by James Rowen at 1:15 PM

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Few things build community as well as urban gardening; why not have victory gardens in each back yard? It's easier to get through than turbines of any size would be, and probably doesn't require nearly the administrative oversight. I reckon placing raised planting beds around West Allis (or anywhere, really) would do as much or more to reduce emissions, and the community-building can't be beat.

December 9, 2008 at 7:44 PM
James Rowen said...

I think we need all the creative alternatives possible.

December 9, 2008 at 8:26 PM
Anonymous said...

I really go back and forth on this one. On the one hand, the only way to really produce electricity is wind. The solar cells just don't produce enough and are expensive. So wind turbine would be a much better personal choice for me.

On the other hand, I remember when citizens band radios were popular in the 80's and the eyesores that people would put on their roofs would bring down property values for blocks around.

Noise generated by a unit that is not well maintained is an issue, too.

December 10, 2008 at 12:44 PM
James Rowen said...

To Vic: I expect that West Allis, through hearings, will sort through these issues.

December 10, 2008 at 1:29 PM
Anonymous said...

I have a rural 20 acres that is surrounded by other agricultural land, but I would have severe trouble with the present wind ordinance (though somewhat updated last year) zoning setbacks, particularly for the size of the turbine I would like to put up, 50-100kw, that could drive a small agricultural and light food processing unit. Optimum tower placement for best wind would be too close to town road and side lot setback.

Also exceeding 20kw per owner allows public utility to pay only a wholesale price for excess power generation pumped back into the grid, instead of retail price. Fair rates for private generation is a minus to capital investment payback ability.

Still working on a plan though.

December 10, 2008 at 5:55 PM

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