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A recent
report in USA Today indicates that the
Alps' glaciers are shrinking at 3% per year. At that
rate, the glaciers will be half their current size
in 22 years.
The Pasterze Glacier in the Austrian Alps is an
example. Here are pictures of the glacier from 1900
and 2000.
  Why should we care about glaciers? In some areas
glacial melt will cause flooding. In other areas,
glaciers are the only source of fresh water. In
either case, disappearing glaciers will have dire
consequences.
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I plugged my 12 year old refrigerator into the
Kill-A-Watt and left it on over night. In 24 hours
it used about 1.8 kilowatt-hours. That's about 75
watts per hour and 54 kilowatt-hours per month. Not
bad for such a large appliance.
A few years ago, I splurged and bought a phone
system with six wireless extensions. The extensions
can go anywhere, no wires (except the "base"
station). It is a wonderfully
convenient system. But...
Each charger base without the phone, draws 2 watts and with the phone, draws 4 watts. Assuming all the phones are in the charger all the time, 6 phones x 4 watts = 24 watts. 24 watts x 24 hours = 576 watt hours or .576 kilowatt-hours per day, times 30 days = 17 kilowatt-hours. My phones use almost a third of the electricity my refrigerator uses! Time to go back to using "wired" phones. |
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Zoning can make installing a wind turbine a
challenge. In many towns, the zoning laws are
written to exclude unanticipated uses. For example,
in my town of Hudson, the zoning document contains a
table describing the various zones and their allowed
uses. Near the table the document states, "If a use
is not specifically allowed, it is not allowed."
Since the zoning usage table was developed years
ago, there is no provision for a small wind turbine
therefore, they are not allowed.
While frustrating, all is not lost. Zoning laws can
be changed. One of my customers is in the process of
doing this now, another customer is considering it.
In the most difficult cases, The process starts by
writing the changes and submitting them to your
town's zoning and planning board. (in the case of
small wind, many wind organizations offer "generic"
zoning regulations as a starting point). The
planning board runs public hearings then typically,
the finalized regulation must be approved by
residents at town meeting.
In many cases, the zoning is not quite so
restrictive and you'll only need a special permit.
And, believe it or not, some towns require nothing.
If you are considering a wind turbine but don't know the zoning. Give me a call. I'll check for you. I've investigated a number of towns already: Exclusionary Zoning: Hudson, Berlin, Harvard, Auburn, Sutton Special permit: Stow, Framingham, Hopkinton Standard building permit: North Brookfield |
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If you find this newsletter valuable, please forward it to your friends and relatives.
Thanks for Reading the Energy Miser,
 Mark Durrenberger
New England Breeze, LLC
phone:
978-212-2665
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