Highland turbine up & running

There's a new addition to the view in the Blue Grass Valley — a 100-foot residential wind turbine tower generating electricity to the home of Polly Newlon and Keith Carson. About one-third of the way up Snowy Mountain, the house sits on a knoll looking down the valley to Hightown. (Photo courtesy Keith Carson) BLUE GRASS — While debate swirls fiercely about wind power in Highland, the first wind turbine generating electricity was quietly installed March 23 on Snowy Mountain.

At the new home of Polly Newlon and Keith Carson, high on a knoll, a 100-foot tower stands slightly taller than trees around it, catching the stiff winds to light their lights and run their computers. A slight stirring sound can be heard from time to time as the machine adjusts itself on its steel lattice structure.

County residents have been embroiled in the controversial plan to put industrial-sized wind towers atop Allegheny Mountain standing 400 feet above the ridge, but this one is quite different — only onequarter the height — and is part of a hybrid system that includes active and passive solar.

On March 23, a 40-ton crane lifted a tower with turbine secured on top. The Power in My Back Yard company based in Thomas, W.Va. installed the hybrid system. Solar panels in the front yard back up wind-generated electricity. (Photo courtesy Keith Carson) The modest but modern home at the end of the Blue Grass Valley stands roughly 3,200 feet in elevation. The winds can be strong, but not consistent enough, particularly in summertime, to give the couple peace of mind without adding solar energy to the mix.

Many people talk about the desire to be "off the grid" — living without depending on power lines and the large utilities which supply on-demand electricity to the grid nationwide. The idea of energy independence goes back decades, but the trend picked up in the last several years, beginning with concerns about what might happen to computer systems when the century turned, and later fueled by black-outs in the Northeast that left millions without electricity for weeks. After 9/11, there was fear about terrorists wreaking havoc on the U.S. power supply. As rates have gone up lately, living without electric bills is even more appealing.

Polly Newlon, binoculars on her shoulder, gazes at the view from the dining room of her new home. She and her husband moved in their telescope for star gazing from their vantage height on Snowy Mountain. All the windows in the home are double-paned to capture "passive solar" heat from the sun which helps warm the house. (Recorder photo by Anne Adams) Despite those longings, few manage to successfully give up their ties to this country's massive infrastructure of power lines. But Newlon and Carson did, and they spent the first night in their new home Easter Sunday, celebrating the culmination of a 10-year dream to live in Highland County — off the grid.

How did they do it?

The journey was not easy, or fast. "We're very rational people," Newlon said. "We're thinkers, problem solvers — scientists by nature."

Both have Ph.D.'s, and their careers in research required patience — a trait that came in handy. They planned carefully, got educated about alternative energy, and waited for the right time in their lives to make the move.

Newlon, one of six children, visited Highland often after her parents retired here in 1975. "I've been coming to Highland since they moved here, but after Dad died, Keith and I started coming up more often to see Mom, and then decided in 1997 to retire here. That was when we started looking for land, and found this property," she said.

She and Keith had been dating since 1989, where they both worked at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.

Newlon has a Ph.D. in physiology and biophysics, and was doing biomedical research and studying traumatic brain injury before going into administration at ODU.

Carson, the son of a career Air Force pilot, lived all over the U.S. and spent four years of high school in Tokyo before pursuing an undergraduate degree in biology and his Ph.D. in neurobiology. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Duke University Medical Center, and served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School before he joined the staff at ODU, where he studied diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.

They knew they wanted to retire to Highland, and in May 2000, they acquired the 80-acre Snowy Mountain property from the late Benny Colaw. It was entirely undeveloped — a mix of open meadows and trees. It is steep terrain, accessible only by a rutted dirt road with sharp turns and enough narrow spots to make a passenger light-headed if he looks down over the edge too quickly.

When Newlon became Highland Medical Center's executive director in 2005, suddenly, the couple felt a few steps closer to putting their plans into action.

They got married, and a year later, Keith left ODU and became a land steward with The Nature Conservancy, a position he held until January this year. Newlon left HMC in October 2007, and they are now both retired — sort of.

Each works roughly 20 hours a week — Carson as a part-timer with Allegheny Mountain Radio, and Newlon as part-time executive director of the Cowpasture River Preservation Association, a non-profit group dedicated to preserving the health and beauty of the river.

Throughout their transitions, they fine-tuned their plans for building a new home, something neither had done before.

As conservation-minded scientists, they enjoyed the thought of using their natural surroundings. That idea was more firmly considered when a consultant visited the mountain site, and agreed it was a good place for putting Mother Nature to work.

Carson spent years researching the science and engineering behind renewable power, some of which changed before they started building. So in 2003, when Alleghany Power estimated it could cost as much as $20,000 to bring electricity to the house site, they realized it would cost about that much to provide their own power, and that sealed the deal. Plus, Carson said, "We just liked the idea of being independent. There's a lot of security in that."

That same year, they got on the list for Jack Beverage Construction — contractors who would later build the home.

But it wasn't until July 2007, that they broke ground on the two-year project. "We'd planned to retire in 2010," Newlon laughed, "so actually, we're a year ahead of schedule."

Newlon and Carson had an architect, and the design is a modern layout on three levels hugging the hillside in a gentle V shape — challenging for its builders, but with an open floorplan that capitalizes on the remarkable views in every direction.

"We call them pods," Newlon laughs. The top "pod" in the back contains the master bedroom, bath, and exercise room. The middle level contains the kitchen, dining, and living room— one space separated only by counters and the centerpiece stone fireplace built by the Grants of McDowell. The lower pod holds an office for Keith, plus guest bedroom and bath.

At 2,500 square feet, it's roomy for two, featuring poured concrete floors and ceramic tiling, and other elegant but simple touches. Their contractors, both agree, were excellent and dependable, willing to take on new tasks like curved steps and 107-degree angles. But there were plenty of hurdles.

What's different?

Visitors know this place has special features before they arrive. A large solar panel 200 feet below at the edge of the driveway gives it away, and the wind tower is visible long before that, especially if afternoon sun is reflecting its three white blades. And off the front deck sits another set of solar panels moving invisibly all day to face the sun. But there's more going on than meets the eye here. The interactive systems behind the walls, inside and out, all come together to take advantage the energy Mother Nature provides.

For example, the land wouldn't perk properly for a septic tank and drainage field. The health department had approved a drip system years before, but it required pumps running 24 hours a day — a method that would require too much power for off-the-grid living. Eventually, the couple settled on an "eco-flow" system that involves a plastic tank lined with gravel and peat moss, and a small wetland to help filter the wastewater before returning it to the ground.

The home also has "green" features like its orientation — facing south to get the maximum heat possible from the sun through the windows. Its low profile reduces heat loss on windy, winter days. There is radiant floor heat, foam and fiberglass insulation in the walls and ceilings; and the doublepane windows on the north side have a special coating that help keep in the warmth.

Out back in the garage, however, is where the "brains" of the major systems reside. Upstairs, tucked away off a room that will eventually become Newlon's studio, is the "nerve center," as they call it.

Enclosed in something like a big plywood blanket chest are 32, six-volt batteries lying side by side: the bank of power. It's connected to high-tech machines on the wall, which is where the power from the solar panels and wind turbine is converted, stored, and sent to the house via underground wiring. Dials and displays show how much power is being generated, how much was made that day, and what's being stored and used.

If there's no wind blowing, the solar panels are picking up the slack. And even on a cloudy day, the panels absorb enough light to keep the batteries "charged."

In the side rear yard stands yet another array — a bank of glass tubes basking in the sun, warming copper wire and antifreeze in a closed loop system for the radiant floor heat.

The solar array at the bottom of the driveway powers the pump for the water supply. It creates enough power to get spring-fed water through 900 feet of one-inch pipe to a reservoir above.

In a small utility room in the house, all manner of pipes and tanks and valves, wires and gauges and pumps come together, get organized, and distribute everything to the proper places in each room.

The piece de resistance, of course, is that wind turbine humming away a few yards from the house. Getting the tower up was another test of patience. With the home mostly complete, the manufacturer was four months delayed in delivering the equipment. When it finally arrived, winter was moving in, and the 40-ton crane required to lift it into place could not navigate the steep, muddy drive. The big day was scheduled and cancelled four times in four months before the crane could make the trip, and finally, three weeks ago, it arrived.

Matt Sherald of Power in My Back Yard based in Thomas, W.Va., attached the blades, rigged the tower, and up it went. By 3 p.m., there was electricity.

After months of waiting, the couple spent last weekend moving in, and are now testing all their plans to see how living off the grid will be in reality. They have to function a little differently, taking care not to deplete their power supply too quickly, Carson explains.

Most American homes use about 1,000 kilowatt hours a month. Newlon and Carson need to stick to about 300-400 kilowatt hours. To make this easier, they've installed all "Energy Star" appliances; their dryer and stove are propane-powered to avoid consuming too much solar or wind electricity; they use nothing but compact fluorescent light bulbs, and operate anything they can with rechargeable batteries. Even the hot water for the guest bathroom is operated via propane power "on demand," meaning the tank doesn't keep water warm all the time. It only fires up when the spigots are turned.

Also, they decided to forgo such luxuries as a dishwasher and garbage disposal they felt they could do without. Due to their relative isolation on the mountain, both are prepared to be safe, and conservative, in their lifestyles. Beyond that, they have all the comforts of home — high-speed Internet access, fairly good cellular service, and modern amenities. They designed the house to suit their needs, with the full expectation they could live there comfortably year-round steeped in the natural beauty they deeply enjoy.

Newlon plans more of her favorite hobbies like nature, music, art, and poetry. Carson is president of the Bath-Highland Bird Club, vice president of the Allegheny Highlands Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist program, in addition to membership in several conservation and environmental groups. "My goal is to write about nature, do nature photography, and develop native plant and wildlife preserve on our property near Blue Grass," he says.

They look forward to spring/ summer projects like gardening, and finishing the last-minute details. Newlon is anxious to rid her new yard of building remnants — what she calls "construction chic."

They feel fortunate to have made it all work. "We were lucky. We had the ability to take this slowly, and plenty of time to plan," Carson said. "For us, it was the excitement and adventure of doing this that really kept us going."