Serving Greene County since 1792 Thursday, November 13, 2008

Green in Greene focuses on wind power

By Billie Dunn

COXSACKIE — Last month Coxsackie Village Mayor John Bull released a draft energy plan to help the village save money on energy costs, and the Village Board Meeting, energy took center stage.

“I was looking over our bills, and I was trying to figure out ways to cut back on our energy expenses,” said Village Trustee John Oliver. “We have programmable thermostats,” he said. “We should set them to 68 degrees during the day, and 66 degrees at night.”

Oliver noted that at home he sets his thermostats to 67 degrees during the day, and 65 degrees at night, as a cost-saving measure. He also suggested looking into automatic lights throughout the Village Building, similar to the ones that are currently installed in the building’s break room.

Bull’s draft plan is organized into three sections, beginning with short-term solutions such as weatherstripping around windows and doors, and turning off personal computers, monitors, printers, copiers and lights. Part two includes strategies for long-term energy savings through two measures, programming thermostats, and added insulation. The final part of Bull’s plan examines LED street lighting — a trend that is expected to save Anchorage, Alaska $360,000 a year — as well as exploring alternative energy options.

“The choices we make today in this community will not only save us money and protect our environment, but they have the ability to help bring security and prosperity to future generations,” said Bull, “With the Village’s energy costs skyrocketing we need both short term and long term investments.”

Green in Greene

Keith and Jessica Abrams of Green in Greene presented the Village board with wind power information at Monday’s meeting.

Green in Greene is an Earlton-based company that specializes in renewable energy. The Abrams, who own the business, have experience in the green-construction field, and earlier this year they began searching for a sustainable energy source.

“We began brainstorming in April, and we did a lot of soul searching when it came to power,” said Jessica.

She says that in the northeastern United States, solar energy isn’t the answer. Instead, she and Keith focus on wind energy — which they say is a clean and green way to power your home and save money, while effectively increasing your home’s value.

They recently installed a wind turbine on their Earlton property, and though they haven’t had it long enough to determine how much they’re saving, Keith estimates that a single turbine can cut a home’s energy costs by between 80 and 100 percent.

The Abrams chose a turbine produced by Southwest Windpower, Inc., of Flagstaff, Arizona and they say that it could pay for itself in as little as five years.

In addition to the turbine installed on their property, the Abrams have installed two turbines in Greenville and one over the river in Hillsdale — and they’re spreading the word one municipality at a time.

Though the turbines are engineered to be maintenance-free for 20 years, the initial investment is costly and Jessica says that government funding for the turbines is currently limited, but Keith says the payback makes it worth it.

“When you see the turbines in use, you gain an entirely different respect for them,” he said.

For now though, village officials plan to start small.

“In the short term, starting this winter, we must implement temperature controls and perform simple, low-cost energy saving repairs to our buildings,” said Bull. “Simple steps — including weather stripping and increasing insulation — will have a significant impact.”

Copies of Bull’s draft energy plan are available at the Village building, and more information on Green in Greene is available at www.greeningreene.com.

To reach reporter Billie Dunn, please call 518-943-2100 ext. 3323 or e-mail
bdunn@thedailymail.net

Mark Wilcox, owner of Napa Auto Parts in Greenville (holding scissors), prepares to cut a ribbon Saturday at a ceremony celebrating two recently-installed wind turbines (background). From left, Jessica Abrams of Green in Greene with son Zachary, Katie Shriver, Morgan Wilcox, Renee Wilcox, and Keith Abrams. Photo by Billie Dunn
Little Live Earth spawns a green idea

By Billie Dunn
GREENVILLE — Napa Auto Parts in Greenville has been at its current 4979 Route 81 location for approximately two years, and about two months ago the store’s owner, Mark Wilcox embarked on an energy-saving measure — he had two wind turbines installed behind the store.

“I decided that I wanted to do my part by using less energy,” said Wilcox, who got the idea this summer during the town’s Little Live Earth celebration. The environmentally friendly event was planned by Wilcox’ daughter Morgan, and her friends Anna Plattner and Katie Shriver, as a Girl Scout project.
That’s where Wilcox met Jessica and Keith Abrams of Earlton-based Green in Greene, who had a booth at the festival.

“I decided I wanted to do it right there and then,” said Wilcox.
Green in Greene specializes in local renewable energy, and on Saturday the couple was on hand at Napa to speak to the public about it.

“We began brainstorming in April, and we did a lot of soul searching when it came to power,” said Jessica, following a presentation to the Village of Coxsackie board last month.

She says that in the northeastern United States, solar energy isn’t the answer. Instead, she and Keith focus on wind energy — which they say is a clean and green way to power your home and save money, while effectively increasing your home’s value.

They recently installed a wind turbine on their Earlton property, and though they haven’t had it long enough to determine how much they’re saving, Keith estimates that a single turbine can cut a home’s energy costs by between 80 and 100 percent.

They have also installed the turbines on Wilcox’ property as well as one over the river in Hillsdale, and they’re currently working on one in Summit, located in the heart of Schoharie County.

The turbines are produced by Southwest Windpower, Inc., of Flagstaff, Arizona and they’re engineered to be maintenance-free for 20 years. The initial investment, however, is costly and Jessica says that government funding for the turbines is currently limited, but Keith says the payback makes it worth it.

For Wilcox, the investment was $30,000.

“I think the turbines will pay for themselves in 10 years, or less,” Wilcox said, “but I wasn’t worried about the payoff, I wanted to use less resources.”

The turbines, which are located on a hill top directly behind Napa, stand 33 feet in the air, are visible from the road, and are virtually silent. The turbines only need about eight-mile-per-hour winds to begin to produce energy, and are designed to withstand category-five hurricane-force gusts.

“The festival is over, but the message isn’t,” said Morgan, who attended the celebration with fellow Girl Scout Katie Shriver. Morgan was home from Manhattanville College, where she is studying international relations. Shriver is majoring in environmental studies at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse.

“We planned Little Live Earth for nearly two years, so it feels really good to see something come out of it,” said Morgan.

In addition to the environmentally friendly wind turbines, Wilcox handed out reusable Napa Auto Parts shopping bags to customers throughout the day — but the giveaways don’t stop there. This weekend Wilcox set up a Christmas tree in the store with gifts underneath it, and every kids who stops by throughout the holiday season can pick one.

Other holiday giveaways include a BMX mountain bike and Visa gift cards.

“It isn’t much, but for some kids, it may be the only gift they get,” he said.