The wind didn’t exactly blow dollar bills through the
door of the Sacred Heart Monastery in Richardton, N.D. But two
years after the monastery’s Catholic sisters installed two
windmills 100 feet high, their electric bill was cut almost in half
for a savings of $18,000 in two years.
“We’ve
been here for over 30 years, and the wind blows all the time,” says
Sister Paula Larson, prioress of the religious retreat and rest
home. “We anticipate that the wind is going to continue to blow so
that we should have a successful wind harvest every year.”
The sisters, who expect to pay for the wind
turbines in 10 years, talk about producing commercial wind energy
as well from their 60-acre monastery
site.
President Clinton has backed proposals
requiring electric utilities to include renewable resources like
windpower, but until that becomes law, the sisters can only sell to
one source – their local electric co-op. Larson says that if
windpower becomes mandatory as part of a utility’s energy supply,
blustery states like North Dakota could boom (HCN,
10/11/99).
“I think it’s a good economic
development potential for North Dakota, because a lot of family
farms are going under, and wind is an excellent resource,” says
Larson.
* Eric Whitney
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Nuns get a windfall.
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