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Mount Airy mulls wind turbines to offset rising electricity prices
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Related Topics: MOUNT AIRY, Md.
MOUNT AIRY, Md. (Map, News) - Wind turbines with gigantic blades like those rising over the countryside in towns across America could provide energy to Mount Airy and reduce soaring costs, backers say.
Two local companies will propose that the county buy six windmills that would sit on 10 acres at the appropriately named Windy Ridge Park.
The windmills, at a price of about $1.5 million apiece, could each produce energy for about 20 houses, said Richard Lank, executive vice president of business development for Grey Goes Green, a Middletown company that produces the turbines.
Baltimore Gas & Electric increased its energy costs nearly 70 percent last year, and Allegheny Power’s prices have gone up, though not as much.
“Everybody knows that costs are skyrocketing anyway, so you may as well do something to brace for it,” Lank said. “At least, that’s the way Mount Airy looks at it.”
One of the first concerns for Mayor Frank Johnson was the size of what he initially pictured as massive, unsightly turbines.
“That would be a concern if they were quite large,” Johnson said. “But from what I see, these things aren’t that big, so it wouldn’t have a huge effect on the people who live around there.”
The turbines aren’t the towering structures from decades ago that most picture, Lank said.
“The misconception is as soon as you mention to people ‘wind energy,’ they think they’re huge turbines,” Lank said. “But as soon as you say, ‘Hey, there’s much smaller, advanced technology,’ people start nodding their heads.”
The turbines would first power the town buildings and perhaps later the rest of the town, town leaders said.
Lank and officials from another company, Freedom Energy Solution, of Westminster, are to make a presentation to the Town Council next month. If the council buys in, it would take about two months to build the turbines and panels before Allegheny Power could connect them.
At a glance
The turbines would stand under 100 feet tall, beneath the power lines at the 88-acre Windy Ridge Park in Mount Airy.
msilvestri@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
3:28 AM MST on Mon., May. 19, 2008 re: "With eye on future, Md. goes green despite tight budget"
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Clean_Burning said:
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