Sep 21, 2009 6:25 pm US/Central
Families Seek Refunds From Wind Turbine Supplier
RURAL ST. CLOUD, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Shirley Anderson and Jon Schmidt agreed to purchase the $68,000 turbine from Farm Boy, giving the company about $50,000 in payments as work progressed. But the work was never finished, and the company has filed for bankruptcy.
CBS
At their rural Sherburne County home, Shirley Anderson and Jon Schmidt had hoped to "go green." With the cost of their electric bill ranging between $300 and $600 each month, the couple decided to invest in their own wind turbine.
After doing some research they found a Des Moines, Iowa company by the name of Farm Boy Energy, offering to sell them a 20 kilowatt unit that would more than supply their power needs.
"They had a A+ rating on them with no complaints," Shirley said as she recalled the company's Better Business Bureau rating.
Shirley and Jon agreed to purchase the $68,000 turbine from Farm Boy, giving the company about $50,000 in payments as work progressed. By late November 2008, the tower was up and the turbine mounted at the top. Underground power cables were trenched to the couple's home. But that's as far as work got.
Ten months later their investment should be paying off, spinning out free energy. Instead it sits idle, a source of grief.
"I'm past being angry, I'm more like, get the word out there. Don't let these people get away with this," Shirley vented.
The couple's among a dozen Minnesota customers who bought turbines from Farm Boy Energy. Some were lucky enough to get the steel tower and a turbine mounted to the top. But others received nothing more than a hole in the ground, filled with concrete.
In August the company filed for bankruptcy protection in Federal Bankruptcy Court in Des Moines. Apparently, the company was plagued with Chinese-built wind turbines that were never configured properly, leaving a trail of angry customers and a pile of mounting debt.
Customers, like Jon and Shirley, are alleging that the turbines they were promised were supposed to be coming from Canada or the U.S. But when the wind generators arrived, they were clearly imported from China and lacked the proper wiring.
David Winkelman is a conservation technology consultant and has been in the wind turbine business since 1973. He says the growing popularity of "going green" has led to some companies getting in over their heads.
"That's what's happening with a lot of small wind turbine companies, is that they're doing R&D on their customers," Winkelman explained.
He says when companies like Farm Boy fail to deliver as promised to their customers, it hurts everyone.
"When you say you're going to be environmentally responsible, well does that put you under a microscope," he added.
Winkelman's company, called Winkelman's Environmentally Responsible Construction (WERC), will research to determine if the Chinese-made turbines can be salvaged or somehow wired to run properly.
Meantime, Farm Boy's angry customers will try to block the bankruptcy, claiming that deals were made under fraudulent terms. They intend to travel to Des Moines on Wednesday to appear at a court hearing into the matter.
At the very least, they'll attempt to get some of their money back and warn others about being suspicious of unproven promises.
Jon Schmidt said a lot of people drop by, drawn in by the sight of the 60-foot tower.
"In the area here I think they're going to be a lot more cautious. They might still be interested, but I think they're going to be very careful who they're going to deal with," he said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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