Jul. 6--BOWLING GREEN -- The Bowling Green area got its fifth wind turbine yesterday.

And while it pales in comparison to the massive four utility-sized machines that the city operates at the Wood County landfill six miles southwest of the city, its owner is thrilled by the interest it has generated in his north-side neighborhood. Don Scherer is one of those guys who gets excited about such things, anyway, being the new president of Green Energy Ohio. That's a nonprofit group that's been pushing for more renewable energy across the state. "I think there is a sense that wind energy is very real around here, and that several people sense they can be a part of it in one way or another," said Mr.

Scherer, a Bowling Green State University professor emeritus of applied philosophy. On Wednesday, Mr. Scherer flew an American flag in honor of Independence Day. Yesterday, he said, the flag was flown to commemorate his own energy independence. After months of planning, the monopole for his turbine was anchored yesterday morning. The blades were tested, the device was connected to the regional electric grid, and electricity was being produced. He expects it to cover 80 to 90 percent of the electrical needs at his home along Barr Road in Wood County's Center Township. The home, built by one of the region's top builders of energy-efficient homes, has numerous energy-saving features.

They include a passive solar design, geothermal heat, and a rain garden in which flowers are grown from captured runoff. He said he has b en living there since Feb. 10. Mr. Scherer said his wind turbine is subject to Federal Aviation Administration rules, because his home is just about a half-mile northeast of the Wood County Regional Airport. He said his turbine is 53 feet tall at the tip of the top blade. Had it been 55 feet or higher, the FAA would have required him to install lights, which would have driven up his costs considerably and reduced his energy savings. By comparison, the utility-sized turbines at the Wood County landfill are 400 feet high at the outer tip.

They produce 1.7 megawatts a year, many times the anticipated output of Mr. Scherer's 1.8-kilowatt machine. "What motivates me more than anything else at this time is that it is a visible step toward energy independence," Mr. Scherer said. "In a large way, as a nation, we're going to have a take a ground-up approach." Energy independence, he said, "is a matter of national security." "I think that consumers are going to have to lead the way to uses of energy that don't impose foreign policy burdens on the United States," he said. Devices such as the one he has can be purchased and installed for $12,000 to $15,000, Mr.

Scherer said. He'll get compensated for whatever he puts on the electric grid under Ohio's "net-metering" law. Forty states and the District of Columbia have such a law in various forms, including Ohio and Michigan. Assisting him with yesterday's set-up, ironically, was Daryl Stockburger. Mr. Stockburger, while Bowling Green utilities director, has been cited as the official chiefly responsible for getting the four utility-sized turbines installed at the landfill. Mr. Stockburger has since retired. He is now employed by North Coast Wind & Power LLC, of Port Clinton, which sold Mr. Scherer his residential wind turbine.

Contact Tom Henry at: thenry@theblade.com or 419-724-6079.