"If the generator produces more power than what your house uses, the
meter spins background and gives you a credit to use another day,"
said Andy Kruse, vice president of business development at Southwest
Windpower.
Depending on the available wind, the turbine could provide 40 to 90
percent of an average home's energy needs.
But even though the Skystream may be affordable and easy to hook up to
a residential circuit breaker, it may still be difficult for a
homeowner to tap into available wind, said renewable energy expert
Scott Sklar, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Stella Group,
which helps companies select clean energy technology.
The majority of homeowners associations, which mandate rules and
guidelines for new developments, prohibit wind turbines on
properties, he said. Furthermore, only 29 states have passed laws
mandating standards that make it easy to plug into the
power grid.
"You can buy any maker's push-button phone and it has the same plug.
But we have not done that nationally for on-site power generation,"
said Sklar.
