A 50-foot-tall addition to a Woodbine tree farm has added a little more green to the property, in more ways than one.

Just This Side of Paradise Farm's new wind turbine -- the first in the county -- saves its owner about $100 each month in energy costs and makes the operation a little "greener" by decreasing its dependence on fossil fuels.

"It's a real model for our county," Del. Gail Bates, a West Friendship Republican, said at an April 21 ceremony at which county and state officials recognized the efforts of the farm in promoting the environment.

A wind turbine converts the kinetic energy of wind to electrical energy. A cable connects the turbine to a breaker box, which distributes energy to the property. The breaker box also connects to Baltimore Gas and Electric's power grid, although it uses energy generated by the turbine before tapping into the power grid.

"If it didn't make financial sense for me, we wouldn't have moved so aggressively toward alternative energy," Brent Rutley, the farm's owner, said during the ceremony.

According to Rutley, the turbine, combined with the 22 solar panels that the farm added last fall, save him an average of about $320 each month.

Rutley, who also owns the farm's parent company Capitol City Contractors, paid $15,000 for the turbine and expects to receive almost $10,000 in state and federal alternative energy-related tax credits, incentives and grants.

"I think by giving people that leg up and encouragement, I think the local government, state and federal's stepped up to the plate," Rutley said.

Financial incentives helped Rutley install the wind turbine, but the issue of sustainability first drew him toward alternative energy.

Rutley attended an alternative energy conference sponsored by the Maryland Nurserymen's Association in 2004. After much research and consideration, Rutley installed solar panels in October 2008 and added the wind turbine in December 2008. He also plans to use other sources of alternative energy, such as a wood boiler and a geothermal system, which reduces the energy required to heat water.

"Sustainability and stewardship are really the driving force behind it," he said.

Guest speakers at the event, including County Executive Kenneth Ulman, and U.S. Reps. Elijah Cummings and Roscoe Bartlett, expressed their support for the new turbine and alternative energy initiatives.

"As stewards of our universe, we must do everything in our power to leave our nation and our world better than we found it," Cummings said.

Ulman said he hopes many more county residents follow in Rutley's footsteps.

"Everyone driving down Route 70 will look at that and think 'Hey, maybe I could do that,' " he said.

Joe Pecar, whose company, Banner Home Solutions, installed Rutley's turbine, said his company will be installing a second wind turbine in Howard County in the near future. Pecar said that there are nine turbines in Carroll County and several in Montgomery County. He estimated that the number of wind turbines in the state is very low.

Pecar said he receives many calls from those interested in installing wind turbines and he said models come in a variety of sizes, with some rooftop models measuring about three feet in height.

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