Morgan County Gets Its First Wind Power Generator

By Hough, Lauren

BERKELEY SPRINGS – A pair of local builders are hoping that a small wind-powered generator can be used in a big way to help open people’s eyes to the potential in renewable energy sources.

Brothers Mike and Pete McKechnie of Mountain View Builders LLC co- ordinated the lifting and installation of Morgan County’s first wind generator, a residential version of the appliance that was set at the top of a 107-foot-tall tower. The whole piece weighs a total of 2,300 pounds, said Mike McKechnie, who lives in the home that will use the generator, and was lifted upright by a 200-foot rented crane.

By comparison, however, Southwest Wind Power’s Skystream 37 generator – the first UL-approved residential appliance to hit the consumer market – operates on a much smaller and quieter scale than its giant commercial counterparts.

The appliance provides regular 240-volt A/C power to homes, just like they receive from the power companies, explained electrical contractor Jason Arnold, of River Edge Enterprises. At full-speed, the battery-free generator will provide 1,800 watts of power.

Because net metering was approved for the state of West Virginia last year, any power created by the generator unused by Mike McKechnie can be sent “back to the grid” for energy credits. A larger, five-kilowatt appliance is being planned, Arnold said, and would be able to power a whole home or small business.

“It’s realistic,” Arnold said of the technology. “It’s not something that’s out of our reach.”

That’s the message Mountain View Builders is trying to spread with its project atop Pious Ridge Road in northern Morgan County. There, the McKetchnies have “recycled” a farmhouse built in 1939. To that. they’ve worked to merge a high-tech home purchased at the 2005 Solar Decathalon in Washington, D.C.

The progressive house was built by the students of the University of Massachusets, and after the McKechnies moved it to Morgan County, they worked to modify it into a “normal” home.

While Mike McKechnie lives in the solar house now as renovations continue, his goal is to eventually move into the completed, adjacent farmhouse and use the other half as an instructional and educational facility that will “demystify” elements such as solar and wind power.

Classes and seminars on alternative energy. such as the solar electric (PV) and solar hot water power used in the home, will be offered to groups ranging from students to adults to homeowners, Mike McKechnie said.

“It’s important for people to know they can put a lot of these systems in themselves if they have the aptitude, or can hire a qualified professional,” McKechnie said.

“Hot water should be used first. It’s the most cost-effective form of alternative energy,” added Pete McKechnie.

Installing a wind generator can be trickier. In order for it to work, a windy site is required – and not one that experiences strong breezes only during storms, Mike McKechnie said.

“A good, quality site inspection is neccessary,” he said, adding that he consulted area farmers and other professionals to determine the feasibility of using wind power on his site.

Still, the McKechnies said they hope homeowners will take the time to research and consider what forms of alternative energy might work and benefit them in their own unique situations.

“Our message is that it’s possible right now for people in the quad-state area to generate some of their own power, both wind and solar, so they can offset their utility bills, reduce them and so they can be less dependent on fossil fuels and coal power,” Mike McK- echnie said.

While the greenhouse gasses put out by the burning of fossil fuels is bad, the McKechnies believe the destructive impact of mountaintop removal mining throughout Appalachia is worse.

“Most people have no clue the amount of devastation and the impact on the local people,” Mike McKechnie said of the controversial practice. “Each and every one of us contributes to that devastation every time we pay our electric bill.”

Mike McKechnie was recently nominated for the West Virginia Environmental Council’s entrepreneur of the year award, because of Mountain View’s commitment to providing concerned consumers with alternative options for powering their homes.

Board members voted overwhelmingly in his favor, said John Christensen, the council’s Eastern Panhandle representative who has been following Mountain View’s solar house project.

Christensen also applauded the “progressive” net metering measure put in place by West Virginia’s Public Service Commission, which gives homeowners one-for-one credit for every kilowatt they generate using their own energy sources.

Both Christensen and the McKechnies believe more consumers will begin turning to renewable energy sources for use in their homes.

“The public’s knowledge level is much higher than the average building professional’s,” Mike McKechnie said. “Consumers want it.”

Mountain View, a 14-year-old Berkeley Springs business, is focused on teaching other professionals about solar- and wind- powered energy options in an effort to widen the pool of knowledgeable professionals that West Virginia’s consumers can turn to for help.

The McKechnies already are planning an open house event to showcase the solar house in June, when they will talk about each specific energy-generating product. In the meantime, they are offering tours to small groups, like the Berkeley Springs High School advanced placement environmental science class.

“We’re hoping to encourage them as they head off to college,” Mike McKechnie said.

Copyright State Journal Corporation May 9, 2008

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