Something new is sprouting up alongside new homes in the Rapid City area, and it's not your grandfather's windmill.

The 30-feet-tall turbines - built one per house - provide power to several new homes in a development east of Box Elder and another east of Piedmont,

The wind turbines are the first built with homes in the Black Hills area. They're part of the green wave of conservation technology that includes electric and fuel-powered hybrid vehicles and energy-efficient appliances, said Ryan Kaski, president of Kaski Homes, which builds the homes and installs the turbines.

"People are doing it with vehicles and with different applications," he said. "But we didn't see, in this area anyway, people doing that with residential."

Kaski's company is proud of its energy-conserving home designs, and the turbines seemed like the logical next step.

The windmill's three, 6-foot-long blades are designed to survive 140 mph winds and crank out up to 2.4 kilowatts, more than enough to power a house.

While technology continues its march, hybrid homes are the look of the future, said South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Dusty Johnson.

"Long term, our homes are going to look like that more than they look today," he said.

Wind conditions vary, so the wind turbines connect to the power grid, which compensates for the turbines when they're running at a lowered capacity.

If the turbines pump in more power than needed by the home, that energy is added to the power grid, which means a monthly bonus.

"It creates a credit on your utility bill," said Jami Poeppel, of Coldwell Banker and a Realtor for Kaski Homes.

The turbine-to-grid connection is an important issue for the PUC. Staff members have worked hundreds of hours in recent months hammering out connection standards for use by the various utilities, Johnson said.

"We want to make interconnection a lot easier for small wind and other generating units," he said.

With connection standards in place, it should be easier for a builder to connect a wind turbine to the grid, and utility companies can be sure their linemen stay safe, he said.

Harnessing the wind doesn't come cheap. The turbines add a $15,000-$18,000 to the cost of a home, Poeppel said.

But while the turbines are pricey, they not only help with the electricity costs and possibly provide a utility bill refund, they join the house as an asset.

"It's a fixture, just like the cabinet and countertops," Poeppel said. "So when you go to sell your home later it sells as part of it."

Don't think it's easy to plant a wind turbine in the ground next to a home. To install the turbines, Kaski must work with zoning laws and building permits.

"So there's quite a bit of paperwork and footwork that goes along with it. You wouldn't put one up right away, unless you wanted to take it down the next day," he added with a chuckle.

The turbine isn't something anyone can put up in their yard. Kaski said the Timberwood Park Estates development near Piedmont and the Sunset Ranch development near Box Elder are the right fit for the turbines. Timberwood lots are 3 acres, and Sunset Ranch lots start at 6 acres.

Answering several common questions, Kaski said the turbines are made to last 20 years, don't involve any batteries, won't interfere with TV signals, and won't make a lot of noise.

"You're going to get some noise, but they've designed and engineered the blades so they'll minimize that," he said.

No matter what the noise, home shoppers seem to love the idea of powering their home with wind energy. Turbines now help power four homes in the developments, and Poeppel said the turbines caught the eye of a family recently transplanted from Arizona.

"When they saw the wind turbine idea, they got really excited and bought the home with the turbine package," she said.

See more about the hybrid homes online at www.webuildhomes.com.

Contact Jeremy Fugleberg at 394-8421 or jeremy.fugleberg@rapidcityjournal.com.