BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Wind turbines will be allowed in yards in Carroll, the first county in the state to pass legislation authorizing them.

Commissioners unanimously approved the turbines Tuesday after residents urged the county to seek alternative ways to generate electricity to reduce utility bills.

“We’ll probably serve as a pilot program for the rest of the state,” Commissioner Julia Gouge said. “We do have a lot of open space and a lot of farmland, and with the high cost of utilities this might be a way to help.”

No other county has added turbines to its zoning regulations.

But about two dozen wind turbines have been built in Maryland, most on the Eastern Shore through a conditional permit, said Crissy Godrey, program manager at the Maryland Energy Administration.

Carroll’s ordinance limits turbines to 150 feet tall and no more than two on a property. And they must be set back from property lines and utility wires by 20 feet more than the turbines’ height.

Michael Maring, chief of the county’s bureau of permits and inspections, said about a dozen residents, most of whom do not live on sprawling farmland, have lobbied for the turbines.

Maring said most are interested in turbines standing from 30 to 80 feet tall because their property is too small to accommodate larger systems.

A small turbine, at a cost of about $12,000, could create enough energy to power a house with enough left to sell to the electric companies, Maring said.

“On a good windy day, they probably could sell some back to the grid,” Maring said.

However, most residents wanted only to offset electricity costs, not profit from the turbines, he added.

They would not need approval from the state’s Public Service Commission to put up a turbine unless they wanted to sell the energy.

msilvestri@baltimoreexaminer.com