Most people choose to light their homes with wind-powered energy and technology in order to lessen, or eliminate, their use of fossil fuels and thus to lessen their impact on our environment. Well, that, and to save money on their electric bill, of course. However, what happens when the companies we use charge you more money than the cost of the machines and labor? Alternative energy stops being innovative, and just becomes a revolutionary rip-off.

I come from a household of local farmers in central New York State. We set up the farm to produce the best organic foods, so that our bodies and minds would be as healthy as possible. So, in order to truly feel progressive in our desire to be healthy and planet-friendly, our next step was to stop using coal and oil to heat our home.
We started researching companies and came across one New York-based company that boasted of having the most established systems, with a five year warranty to boot. They also claimed that the windmills were capable of resisting cold temperatures and high winds. It sounded like a dream come true! We set up meetings and soon found ourselves in the process of starting the ground breaking. However, even as they began to do work on our property, they never gave us an exact price. When they finally gave us an estimate, it was a whopping $95,000! On top of the astonishing price, they refused to provide us with an itemized report.

Needless to say, we were a flabbergasted, and decided to take the matter into our own hands. After doing some research on their equipment and pricing, we discovered that it would only cost the company an approximate $47,000 to do the job: the turbine itself would cost $27,000 and the tower and foundation would cost $20,000. So, we wondered, where was the other half going?
We figured their response would claim that it was the cost of labor, but it was hard to believe that an entire $50,000 would be funding the workers alone. We asked the company that very question, and are still waiting for an answer.

If you’ve been considering installing your own wind-powered energy system, don’t make the same mistake! The best way to protect yourself from potentially fraudulent companies is to do your research ahead of time, and do it well. If you want more information on alternative energy in NY State, visit the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority site, or check if your State or County has their own site to cover your area. Then check for Renewable Energy equipment providers in your area, and make sure to ask all the right questions from the start.
The up-front cost of installation may seem high, but the price we’ll pay for conventional energy will be astronomical later. But this doesn’t mean we should be taken advantage of! Just as we continue to fight for our environment, when it comes to providing yourself with renewable energy, find an honest, reasonable company, and don’t settle for less.

- Cassie

This entry was posted on Monday, September 14th, 2009 at 12:21 pm and is filed under Green Trends, The Big Green Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.