Harnassing Your Backyard Wind

A few weeks ago when I was in Springdale at the APA gig, one speaker was yapping on (in a good way) about various topics related to energy alternatives. He opined that communities should begin to explore the policy of allowing backyard wind turbines that would provide electricity for the homeowner. Huh? Of course I'd heard of people using solar panels as an alternative to power from the grid (or in addition to it, in many cases) but the idea of a wind turbine in a backyard only brought the following visual to my limited mind:

Well, seems times they are a changing and, as usual, I'm a bit slow finding out. I came across this article from the Sunday NY Times and thought it interesting. Seems some places already allow wind turbines for personal electrical generation. Granted, they aren't paticularly small (but not nearly as large as what my limited mind had envisioned) and it's best you live on a large lot and that your neighbors like you. Here's what they sorta look like for the residential user:

Do you remember the huge satellite dishes some folks stuck in the side yard a decade or so ago? Now look how small those dishes are. Don't be surprised if in a decade or less, small wind turbines are hanging onto homes all over Zion, or at least in the windy towns.