The windy weather was welcomed Wednesday in Lordstown as officials cut the ribbon on two new wind turbines.
"Everybody talks about green technology. everybody talks about getting away from traditional energy sources," Lordstown mayor Mike Chaffee said. "We feel we want to put actions behind our words."
"Wind is a free resource," said Greg Courtney with Wind Turbines of Ohio. "The idea is to get the kinetic energy of the wind out of the wind and use it as a renewable resource. That's what these wind turbines do. We're taking the kinetic energy out of the wind, converting it to electric, something we can all use."
The turbines should provide at least 30% of the electricity to the village offices.
"These turbines take a five mile per hour wind speed to begin generating electricity," Courtney said. "Usually everyday they're going to make something."
The process of bringing the turbines to town started a year and a half ago. In total, the project cost about $130,000, 90% of which was paid through grants. The village hopes it will save money in the long-run.
"We think our payback portion, conservatively, will be three and half to four years. They're going to be up there a lot longer than three and a half to four years," Chaffee said. "Conservatively, we think we can save $50,000, 60,000, $70,000 over the next 10 years."
