Wednesday, September 19, 2007
MERCER, Pa. — A lightning strike took an electricity-generating windmill out of service at the Munnell Run Farm on Pa. Route 58, said Jim Mondok, the Mercer County Soil Conservation district manager.
He said Tuesday the windmill has been out of service since early August and awaits a decision by the district’s board, which meets Oct. 1, on whether to pay for the $4,700 repair.
Mondok said help also is being sought from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which awarded the $55,000 used to buy the windmill.
Mondok said the windmill, installed in October 2006, was not covered under the county’s insurance. He said it had never been added to the list of covered structures, though the buildings on the farm are covered.
He said the windmill had devices that were supposed to protect it from lightning but failed to do so.
The windmill was set up to generate power for two buildings and a fencing system at Munnell Run Farm and was to be an experiment in clean-energy production.
Mondok said the system was set up so that when the windmill was not providing enough power, the buildings would switch to the Penn Power grid. Surplus power generated by the windmill went to Penn Power, though the county received no money for it.
When the windmill was installed last year, Mondok had said it was expected to save electric costs and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.