Many taking alternative energy into their own hands
4:18 p.m. Saturday, October 11, 2008
A small humming noise is all this wind turbine makes while producing electricity.
Jim Woods put in a wind turbine in Osage County about two months ago, and it's helped his bill.
"I am total electric, so that's why I wanted to get it down a little bit," Woods said.
He says the reason he wanted to get a wind turbine is because it will pay for itself.
"Well, you're going to have to go green, and electricity is not going to go down, it's going to go up. And all your utilities are going to go up," Woods said.
His wind turbine isn't like anyone else's. He designed it himself.
"We thought a sunflower theme would be good, so that's what we did," Woods said.
The sunflower comes fully equipped with leaves, and bugs he welded together.
So what's the cost of installing a wind turbine?
"The end cost is about $7,000," Gary Rush said.
That's if you install it yourself.
Rush has had a wind turbine for two years, and now he installs them.
But how much will it save in your electric bill in one month?
"Immediately, the savings from your electric bill, you can look at $50 to $60," said Rush.
Gary and Jim were looking at the meter, and noticed the dial turning the opposite direction.
The wind turbine was producing more energy than Jim's house was using at that time.
Many people match their turbine with their homes, like this house who painted the pole the same color as their barn.
People are starting to take the initiative to go green.
"To put up your own wind turbine, it's your own investment, what it does produce later you won't be paying for," Rush said.
Rush told us the government is offering 30 percent, up to $4,000 in tax benefit to those who produce energy through a wind turbine.
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