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Welcome to Carol Warren, OVEC’s Newest Staff Member
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On Feb. 22, the State Journal printed "Webster Couple Strives to Ease Dependence on Electric Grid." The story by Beth Gorczyca-Ryan, featured Carol Warren and her husband, Todd Garland, and their six-year stint at living nearly off the grid:
"The couple has spent thousands of dollars to convert their home high atop a ridge in Webster County so that most of their electricity comes from renewable sources – specifically wind and solar power – instead of from the electric power grid.
"We did it because we both were convinced it was the right thing to do," Warren said.
Carol and Todd researched power systems and settled on a mix of small-scale wind and solar.
"The couple eventually built a 36-foot tall windmill with a 7-foot blade span and installed eight solar panels in a field near their house. The energy generated through the wind and sun then runs underground to their home, where the couple has a bank of 12 batteries that collect and store the energy. The batteries feed two 110-volt invertors which then feed electricity directly into the breaker box.
"…The couple had to pay between $15,000 and $16,000 for the solar panels, windmill, batteries and wiring. While half of that cost was picked up through a grant from their Franciscan community based in New York, Warren and Garland had to pay for the rest."
Carol and Todd now have minimal electric bills, but the system has yet to pay for itself. They didn’t install the renewable energy system primarily to save money, but rather to reduce their ecological footprint. (Solar and wind energy systems prices will decrease with mass production and more widespread use).
"Warren said she can never tell when her system
is shifting from alternative electricity to the electricity that comes in off of the wires. Lights don’t dim. Power doesn’t go down.
"…And while large-scale wind farms have come under fire for allegedly killing large numbers of bats and migratory birds, Warren said she and her husband have never found a dead bird by their windmill. In fact, she said more birds have died after flying into the home’s windows.
"Other complaints are that windmills and wind farms are too loud. Warren said that’s not been a problem either.
"There’s a little hum from the inverters, but it’s not bad," she said. "I like to say that the sound is the sound of coal not burning."
Carol, a Charleston, WV, native, is a 10th generation West Virginian who has spent most of her adult life working for social justice in the Appalachian mountains.
Carol has 15 years of social justice experience working for the Catholic Diocese of Lexington, Ky., and the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.
Her work as the West Virginia diocese’s director of the Office of Justice and Life has successfully built relationships between labor, environmental, community and religious groups.
She currently serves on the board of the West Virginia Environmental Council, is the chairperson of the Government Concerns Committee for the West Virginia Council of Churches, and serves on the steering committee of Christians for the Mountains.
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