Dayton, Nevada
Greta and Arthur drove
halfway across the country from
Wichita, Kansas to Dayton,
Nevada (a suburb of Reno) to
be closer to their family. Along
the way, they were fascinated by the wind
turbines dotting the country side. Arthur is a retired engineer from Boeing and
Vivian is a former equipment inspector
for another aircraft company. With that
experience, they couldn’t help but
consider the potential savings from such a
unique energy source.
Once settled in Nevada, they dreamed up
a pair of massive wind turbines in their new
yard that would both cut back their energy
expenses and their energy footprint. Greta said that they were, “getting tired”
of the propane. It cost $1,800 in four
months. We are not on a gas line, we
would have to run it a block and a half to
get here. We looked into solar power, but
the companies wanted over $100,000 for
a 2,200 square foot home like ours.
Greta and Arthur have been married for
35 years. They have, between the two of
them, five children and nine grand
children. When Greta lost her leg to a
car accident, the couple moved to a new
more accessible home with the help of a
reverse mortgage.
Now that they had this new idea, they
refinanced their reverse with the help of
loan officer Frank Simplicio. “Frank came
out, talked to us about it. And we decided
to go for it.” They got connected to
Skystream Wind Turbines out of Flagstaff ,
Arizona. Greta says, “We went ahead and
ordered them for $15,000 each and
Nevada Power gave us a $13,000 rebate
for the two of them.” The reverse covered
the rest of the expense. There are two or
three others in their neighborhood
who are looking into reverse mortgages
and many more who are looking into
building their own turbines. According to Greta, her monthly electric bills have been
cut by more than half and the benefits are
obvious. “My brother is doing it next year.
Another neighbor just did it as well. This
is fantastic! The whole country needs this!," she adds.
In fact, the country has already begun to
pick up on the need. Vivian gushes, “The
national guard came with a representative
from Washington, DC. Thirtysome odd
people from all over the United States
came in a big tour bus.” The national
guard was particularly interested in setting
up similar turbines on their bases.
Additionally, the couple is looking into
federal grants for wind energy sources that
may be able to off set their expenses even more.
“We don’t take from the ground. We
take from the air,” says Greta of her new
towering symbol of greener living. “Our
county totally supports this. We don’t
have to burn fuel and pollute the air any
more.” Of naysayers, Greta says, “others
say that they don’t want it bothering their
view. Well, we should shut off their gas for
24 hours.
Then they’ll support it!”