[IMG]http://simplefeed.consumerreports.org/rsrc/i/1/_/buzzword_imbys_vs_nimbys_over_wind_power__96576177 3/4.gif?f=3dcb3160-01dc-11dc-32a2-0019bbc55f7f&s=AewyNia7NTvDvhaDemju5DEsbnVsbCwwLDA *[/IMG] Buzzword: IMBYs vs. NIMBYs over wind power
What it means: Short for "In My Backyard", the IMBY buzzword inverts the more established NIMBY label. While NIMBYs oppose developments like airports, utility lines and prisons, a combination of practicality and altruism makes IMBYs favor projects other neighbors find dangerous, dingy, or otherwise undesirable.
Why the buzz? Whooshing wind turbine blades have become one of the leading edges of IMBYism, as homeowners install residential wind-power systems and communities allow large wind power companies to site wind turbine complexes on public land. In 2008, an estimated 48 billion kWh of electricity will be generated in the United States, enough to power 4.5 million households. (Big wind farms in Texas, California, and other wide-open states still produce most of the nation's wind power.)
But the small wind turbine market?defined as systems that produce from 1 to 100 kWh?grew 15% in 2007, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), and wind generators are moving from small systems that charge batteries on sailboats and recreational vehicles to ones powering individual homes, farms, and small businesses in suburban and even urban settings.

Even arbiters of style are into wind, as evidenced by this August 6th, 2008 story in The New York Times about designer Philippe Starck's ultra-modern rooftop turbine.* *
But some critics see the wind-backing IMBYs as more selfish than selfless. On August 18, the Times ran a cover story entitled "In Rural New York, Windmills Can Bring Whiff of Corruption" detailing numerous conflicts between neighbors (and some conflicts of interest among politicians) swirling around wind turbine placement.
Across the U.S. NIMBYs complain that wind turbines mar vistas and reduce animal habitat when built in low-population areas and offshore sites; in urban areas, they're rapped as merely loud and unaesthetic. Animal lovers protest the fact that bats and birds can fly into their rotating blades. (Visit www.stopillwind.org and www.windtsop.org for more arguments, and AWEA's FAQ page for some counter-arguments?including sections on hazards to humans and child-safety precautions around wind turbines.)
Ron Stimmel, small wind advocate at AWEA, doesn't argue aesthetics. But on the noise front, he cited a test results showing that from a distance of 300 feet, a Bergey Windpower 10 kW BWC Excel wind system like the one pictured at right generated a 54-55 decibels of sound with the wind blowing 25 mph.
Stimmel also cited a National Academy of Sciences study showing that wind turbines cause just three out every 100,000 human-caused bird deaths. But the study also reads: "While estimation of avian fatalities caused by wind-power generation is possible ... it is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the incremental contribution of wind-powered generation to cumulative bird deaths in time and space at current levels of development." Bat fatality data, the report notes, are even sparser.
But if sales are any indication, more IMBYs are getting behind the small wind movement despite these concerns. Stimmel also urged Congress to extend federal tax credits (similar to the current 30% tax credit on solar energy systems) to help defray a backyard wind turbine's $12,000 to $60,000 cost.
At the local level, Arizona, California, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Vermont are offering additional tax rebates or credits that will help continue to fuel small-wind installations--to the relief of some residents, and the resentment of others.?Daniel DiClerico
Essential information: Learn more about local utility and state rebates and tax credits for alternative energy systems and how to purchase wind-generated and other green power that's fueling an explosion in "green-collar" jobs. Also, read our report on Neighbor Disputes in the September 2008 issue of Consumer Reports for advice on keeping up relations with the Joneses across a wide range of possible disputes.
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