WASHINGTON: After years of battling the owners of the massive coal-fired power plant near his suburban home, Ken Robinson decided to reduce his dependence on electricity. Now, he’s taking a most unusual step.

Pending two more layers of approval, Robinson, 52, plans to install a 33-foot-tall wind turbine in his backyard, paying upward of $20,000 to construct his own source of energy. The move could result in a huge saving on his electricity bill as well as the satisfaction of relying less on global energy company Mirant, which he says is causing significant environmental damage.

Last week, the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative approved Robinson’s request to build a wind turbine to provide electricity for his home in Swan Point, about 50 miles south of Washington. If the county zoning board and the state’s Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission decide that the turbine does not violate local ordinances or environmental protection laws, Robinson will begin operating one of only a handful of personal-use windmills in Maryland.

Although he would not go off Mirant’s grid completely – most of his electricity would still come from traditional power lines – 25 to 40 per cent of his power would be produced from a white three-spoked Skystream that would convert wind to energy in a 220-volt line buried in his yard.

”We’ve still got a ways to go before there’s a windmill up and running, but we’re getting there,” Robinson said on the grassy site where the structure would sit. “I can’t for the life of me imagine why it would be turned down.”

A spokesman for the cooperative said it has no problem with Robinson’s plan.

”Our message is that we support renewable energy,” spokesman Tom Dennison said. “There is a definite move toward renewables, and if people want to do that, we will facilitate these things.”

Robinson’s plan is the latest example of residents taking matters into their own hands as their utility bills climb. Sales of solar panels have greatly risen as governments have offered rebates and tax credits, and more people report turning off their air conditioners to cut costs and reduce their carbon footprint.

Yet the scale of Robinson’s windmill proposal, combined with the fact that it would sit in the shadow of one of the Washington area’s largest coal-fired power plants, makes it one of the most audacious steps in the region.

Robinson, who owns a multimedia production firm in Washington and lives primarily in Georgetown during the week, has had a contentious relationship with Mirant for most of the seven years he has owned the house at Swan Point, a community of large waterfront homes that can sell for upward of $1 million. As president of the Swan Point Property Owners Association, he has fought a planned expansion at the facility and protested Mirant’s environmental record. He operates a website, www.stopmirant.com, that serves as a watchdog of the company’s regional activities.

Through his research on Mirant, he learned of homeowners producing up to 80 per cent of their electricity with wind energy. He concluded that his lot, between the Potomac River and Cuckold Creek, is windy enough to generate a significant percentage of the electricity needed for his 3,000-square-foot, three-bedroom home, which requires an average of about 12 mph. From the spot where Robinson and his wife, Sheryl Elliott, plan to build their windmill, just past their private beach and tiki bar, visitors can see Mirant’s twin 700-foot-tall smokestacks belching thick, black smoke.

The Southern Maryland cooperative had never received an application for a wind turbine, so an official had to create a form for Robinson. And because the county zoning board generally addresses requests to build sheds or in-ground swimming pools, it isn’t sure how to deal with an application for a windmill, either.

”It’s always an uphill battle,” said Carlos Fernandez Bueno, a surgeon who started selling windmills out of his Frederick County home in 2006. “People get rejected because there’s not a zoning code that applies, but the counties aren’t being proactive to create the zoning codes.”

Fernandez Bueno has sold 70 windmills at $10,000 to $13,000 each, making him a top US supplier. Most have been shipped to Delaware, Ohio, Pennsylvania and the West Coast, where states offer generous rebates or tax credits for owners.

Even if Robinson clears all of the governmental hurdles, the experiences of other windmill owners suggest that he could face other challenges. Some have found that their lots don’t consistently provide enough wind to make the investment worthwhile; others say their neighbors complain that the windmills are too noisy or block their views.

Michael Mercurio of New Jersey is in litigation with his neighbors over the sound from his windmill, which he and manufacturers liken to the noise produced by a refrigerator.

Anticipating such possibilities, Robinson spoke to his neighbors about his plan. He received only positive feedback, partly because the windmill would operate more than 500 feet from other houses. One couple, similarly fed up with high electricity rates and Mirant’s looming smokestacks, is considering building a windmill if Robinson’s is approved.

Robinson and state and local officials agree that more personal-use wind turbines will probably be constructed. But the technology would have to become more accessible. The price and minimum wind requirements for efficiency are prohibitive for many area residents.

”If I’m spending $20,000 in 2008, the cost will be $10,000 in two or three years and $5,000 after that,” Robinson said. “Somebody just has to go first.”

—Dawn/LA Times/Washington Post News Service