Wind power then and now

We received a letter in the mail the other day, notifying us that funds are available from the Federal Government, for property owners that would be interested in installing an electricity generating wind turbine on their property.

Quote: “Over a hundred years ago almost every landowner had a wind turbine on their property.  It’s time to get back to the basics and become energy independent.”

I am a  strong advocate for self-sufficiency,  so the wind power movement has caught my attention from time to time.  I also have a son-in-law who is working with wind power projects,  so I grilled my daughter (he was out-of-town) for information about modern wind power technology.  In a nutshell this is what she said:
·  Enormous investment
·  Long time to realize a return on the investment
·  Major maintenance needed after 20 years

Think about it.  One hundred years ago, with very little technology, every one could afford to have a wind mill on their property, a solid wind mill that would work and last for many decades; many of those still dotting the countryside and some yet in working condition a century later.  I realize that the wind mills of my grandfather and great-grandfathers time had one main purpose, and that was to power the water pump, not the entire household.

Yet still, with today’s technology, we can have internet on our cell phones, and repair satellites in space …………. hmmmmm, doesn’t it seem like someone could come up with a small-scale wind project that was affordable and built to last?  Or was that just the good old days?