For generations, the wind has made life difficult for a Gorham farm family.
Violent winds blowing across the open fields at the Hamblen farm, where Hereford cattle are raised, have thrown hay wagons through fences. In 1906, it flattened a barn.
“It blows constantly,” said Charles Hamblen, 48, the seventh generation at the 100-acre farm. “I’ve fought the wind. I wanted to get something out of it.”
These days, Hamblen has put the wind to work at the farm. A windmill he erected in October 2007 at the farm on Hamblen Road, off Gray Road, has cut his monthly electricity bill in half.
Now, as wind power gains in popularity, the Gorham Town Council’s Ordinance Committee is working on recommendations to regulate windmills. Clint Cushman, Gorham code enforcement officer, said that, without any specific regulations, a windmill would now be allowed in the majority of town zones under accessory uses. He said windmills are subject to both town and Federal Aviation Administration height regulations.
Cushman said, as an example of a town restriction, structures including windmills in village centers in Gorham are limited to 35 feet in height. And he said, sufficient land, which he called a fall zone, would be necessary in the event a toppled windmill wouldn’t land on a neighboring property.
While Cushman didn’t recall any recent requests for a windmill in Gorham, it’s likely only a matter of time. In surrounding communities, both windmill requests and windmill ordinances are becoming more common as more people are interested in harnessing the clean, renewable energy.
Cape Elizabeth allows a “personal wind energy system,” with Planning Board approval, on lots of 20,000 square feet or larger, providing that the system meet height, turbine size, setback, appearance, safety, signage and noise requirements. Biddeford and Saco ordinances both limit residential windmill height and capacity.
Hamblen’s windmill cost $12,000. He said it’s the same model that former President George Bush has in Kennebunk and one that the city of Saco owns.
At 50 feet tall, the windmill towers above his barn. The stainless steel pole is topped with three eight-foot blades and a turbine. It’s mounted in concrete reinforced with steel. He said it would withstand winds up to 120 miles per hour but shuts down at 70 mph.
“It’s safe, Its not going to fall down,” he said.
He has two meters – one for electricity used and another to record what his windmill generates. He both receives and generates electricity for Central Maine Power Co. In 2008, Hamblen was billed 15.5 cents per kilowatt hour for the 10,000 kilowatt hours he and his family used, equaling about $1,550. But, the windmill generated about 5,000 kilowatt hours, slicing his bill in half.
If his windmill generated more electricity for the power company grid than his family and farm used in a month, Hamblen’s bill could be reduced to zero. But, he’s not paid for any surplus electricity.
“I can’t make money but I can reduce my bill to zero,” Hamblen said. “I haven’t seen that yet.
He figures payback for his windmill investment would be eight to 10 years.
Hamblen, an insurance accountant, and his wife, Deidre, have four children. He said the windmill creates curiosity among passers-by and many stop to ask about it – “a lot of interest,” Hamblen said.
It may be the most recent, but not the first windmill in Gorham. A windmill erected in the early 1900s but long stilled remains in Edith McCauley’s field in White Rock.
Wind once pumped water from a spring at the McCauley farm and it was still functional into the 1980s.
“A windmill is the most efficient piece of machinery you can imagine,” McCauley said. “I’m in favor of wind power.”
Hamblen’s property has been owned by the same family for more than 200 years. His grandfather, Joseph Hamblen, harnessed a horse to deliver mail. Hamblen has the original deed for the property that a forebear bought for 250 English pounds from land speculators.
He said wind power would help ensure the farm remained in the family.
“It’ll keep the cost down so we can afford to stay,” he said.
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