We sit atop of a high plateau just east side of Vermont’s Green Mountains. This gives the wind time and distance to build its strength and intensity before it reaches our farm. In winter it blows so hard it can be difficult to stand up and see where you are going on a short walk from one building to another.

After twenty-five years of weathering strong winds, we decided to put up a windmill. In 2003, we applied for and received a grant from the Vermont Department of Public Service to cover half the cost of a reconditioned wind turbine that had once stood on Tehachapi Pass above the Mojave Desert in southern California. The turbine was a Vestas V-15 35kw model made in Denmark in the 1980’s.

Having always been pioneers in farming, this project was no exception. The windmill was delivered in the midst of a howling October snow storm. We assembled the 75 foot steel lattice tower on its side on the ground. Erection day came in mid November after two feet of snow and then a big rain storm. The 85 ton crane hired for the job had to be pulled across the muddy field by a neighbor’s D-7 bulldozer. There were several mishaps during the day, but in the end we managed to get the whole thing in the air.

This project was completed in late September of 2004, almost a year after the wind turbine was first delivered. For every kilowatt hour we generate, one is subtracted from our monthly electric bill. In the winter months, we generate between three and four thousand kilowatt hours per month. As the wind rattles the windows and shakes the walls, we're pleased to be able to harness a tiny slice of its power.