NY Nursery Adds Wind Energy

A Long Island nursery has added a 100-kilowatt wind turbine to offset some of its energy consumption, reports North American Wind Power.

The Half Hollow Nursery in Laurel put the 121-foot-tall turbine up at its 1,200 acre nursery operations, reports The Suffolk Times.

It is the largest wind turbine yet installed on Long Island.

The turbine cost the nursery about $500,000, about $127,000 of which will be rebated by the Long Island Power Authority.

The turbine should generate about 157,000 kilowatt hours of energy a year, helping the nursery save about $30,000 a year on energy costs.

It will be used to run water pumps, lighting and heating, according to a press release.

Eastern Energy Services, which helped with the installation, said it is putting up a 20 kilowatt turbine at Osprey Dominion Vineyard in Southold, NY.

Eastern Energy is awaiting the permit to put up another 100-kilowatt turbine in Islip, NY.

With wind turbine prices falling and government incentives rising, more businesses should be able to adopt wind power in the coming year, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

In identifying top wind trends for 2010, the AWEA notes that the 30 percent federal investment tax credit on small wind systems has been expanded for eight years. For more top wind trends in 2010, click here.