Since April 1999, Eugene Water and Electric Board has offered its customers the option of getting a percentage of their electricity from Wyoming wind generators as part of EWEB’s wind energy project. Choosing to use wind power costs extra, but it allows clients to have more control over where the money they pay for their monthly electric bill is allocated, EWEB Energy Service Department Manager Mat Northway said.
“You know a portion of your bill is going to a specific, renewable resource,” he said.
According to a September 2001 National Renewable Energy Laboratory study, Eugene ranked seventh in the nation for having the highest participation rate in “greenpricing” programs, with 3.5 percent of customers paying extra to use 10, 25, 50 or 100 percent wind power.
He said residences usually choose the wind power option, and although there is no demographic breakdown, Northway suspects that students are using wind power. Northway said students tend to be more aware of environmental issues and have small houses with manageable electric bills.
OSPIRG’s energy campaign leader, Jacob Meyer, allocates 10 percent of his electricity to wind power. He wants to increase to 25 percent, but the cost is holding him and his roommate back.
He said he supports wind power because it is the fastest growing energy source in the world and will move the country away from a reliance on fossil fuels.
“As individual citizens, we can make a choice to support progressive utilities,” he said.
OSPIRG campus organizer Paul Helstrom added that wind power is a more favorable alternative to other types of renewable energy, such as solar or hydroelectric power, because of its cost competitiveness.
Birds were once an additional concern because they would fly into the blades, but modern windmills are constructed to protect birds, he said.
The Wyoming windmills constructed for the EWEB project were built to reduce bird mortality, Northway said. Birds often die because, after perching on top of the windmills waiting for prey, they swoop down to snatch a bird and get caught in the blades, he said.
But the Wyoming windmills were built with rounded tops and all power lines are underground, which prevents perching. The blades also move at a slower speed and are painted.
Northway said that once the program was launched, there was a steady increase in customers until it leveled off a year later in April 2000. Since then, there have been two rate increases, which has pushed some people to drop out of the program. Overall, Northway said participation has remained steady.
For more information, call 388-WIND.