Metro Man Pioneers Way with Home Wind Power
fox4kc.com May 13, 2009
INDEPENDENCE, MO - When the American flag in Gus Spencer's Independence blows in the wind, it's a moment of pride. But when his new wind turbine blows in the wind, it's hours of inexpensive electricity.
Spencer is using a wind turbine and solar panels to power his home 30 minutes east of downtown Kansas City. He may be a pioneer with this technology, but he says that he expects others to soon follow.
"It don't supply all of our electricity, but it supplies most of our electricity," said Spencer, who installed the wind turbine last September. He says that the turbine provides about 75 percent of his electricity needs, and that you can barely hear it hum if you're standing beneath it, and you only need a small breeze to benefit.
"It is a cost, but it will save you money and it's helping the energy of the United States," said Spencer.
On Tuesday, a workshop was held for businesses that want to get into wind power. Experts say wind turbines will increasingly be built close to wind farms because of shipping issues, and they say that means an opportunity to create thousands of jobs in Kansas and Missouri.
"Each of those turbines has between 5,000 and 10,000 components to it everything from gears to control systems to gear boxes," said Christopher Chung of the Missouri Partnership. "These are all products which can be made right here in the Midwest in the Kansas City region."
As for Gus Spencer, he says that the wind turbine and solar panels cost about $25,000 each, but he believes that they'll pay for themselves in 10 to 15 years through lower utility bills.
"I think the more people get involved in it the price will come down," said Spencer.
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