Some people fly kites. We fly a Bergey wind turbine, generating electricity where we live, tax free, and without polluting the environment. -- John Ivanko
Location: Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast (and farmstead), Browntown, Wisconsin
Rated Output of Wind Turbine System: 10 kW (10,000 Watts)
Commissioned: May 9, 2003 (start of electricity generation from wind)
Type of Wind Turbine System: Grid intertie with local electric utility, Alliant Energy. Net metering allows owners to sell excess electricity production back to the electric utility. No battery storage was employed. All electricity used at the Inn Serendipity farm is from 100-percent renewable energy (wind and bio-gas), based on the Second Nature program offered by Alliant Energy.
Annual Electricity Output from Wind Turbine: 10,479 kWh/year in 2007. Click here for: complete wind turbine output by year. In 2007, Inn Serendipity produced a surplus of 1,870 kWhs of electricity for our community.
System Design: A 10 kW Bergey BWC Excel-S generator is placed on a 120-foot guyed tower, connected to an Excel-S GridTek 10 Power Processor Inverter which is then connected to the farm/house service. 
The inverter converts 3-phase Alternating Current (AC) generated from the wind turbine to single-phase Alternating Current (AC) which can readily be used for electricity needs on the farm and, in the case of surplus generation, "stored" or "banked" back on the grid through "net metering." In August 2005, the blades were switched out with the latest generation Bergey blades that are 1 foot longer and 4 inches wider; this change boosted our average monthly output by about 20 percent versus the older generation blades.
Educational and Demonstration Focus: The actual installation of the wind turbine system was completed May 4 - 10, 2003 through the Midwest Renewable Energy Association's Educational Institute workshop taught by Mick Sagrillo of Sagrillo Power & Light. This workshop offered contractors, electricians, homeowners and others interested in renewable energy a hands-on learning experience. Visits to examine the systems at Inn Serendipity throughout the year can be made by prior arrangement.
Project Designers: Mick Sagrillo, Sagrillo Power & Light, John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist, co-owners of Inn Serendipity, and Phil and Judy Welty, formerly of Solar Use Now (S.U.N.) of Wisconsin
Renewable Energy Systems Dealer: Lake Michigan Wind & Sun, Green Bay, WI
System Installer: Mick Sagrillo, Sagrillo Power & Light as a part of an MREA Educational Institute workshop
Ecological Impacts: Over the expected 20 year lifespan of the 10 kW wind turbine system, approximately 244,080 kWh of electricity will be generated from the wind to meet electricity needs at Inn Serendipity; this will help avoid carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as well as other pollutants being released into the atmosphere from coal-fired electricity generation plants, the most common source of electricity in Wisconsin. Excessive CO2 emissions are a leading contributor to global warming.
Use of Electricity: Farmstead, bed & breakfast, and home office.
TOTAL Surplus Electricity Generation (Wind and PV combined): In 2007, Inn Serendipity produced a surplus of 1,870 kWhs of electricity for our community. Estimated annual electricity use in all-electric home/business is 8,500 kWh/year. Electricity usage changes due to increased operations of strawbale greenhouse and the all-electric CitiCar that us used for local commuting. The credit refunds from Alliant Energy are set aside for routine operation and maintenance of wind turbine.
Eco-nomics (Cost of 10kW Bergey Wind Turbine System):
Wind Turbine System Funding Support: Both the wind turbine and PV systems are made possible, in part, by funding from the Wisconsin Focus on Energy program.
Site Integration: Integration of wind turbine system to help meet energy needs of diversified small-scale organic farming operation and home-based small business.
Comprehensive Farmstead Overview and Self-guided Booklet: Print out the 20 page booklet, The Good Life Guide: A self-guided tour of Inn Serendipity & the renewable energy systems that make it possible for a more detailed overview of the renewable energy systems employed on the farm.
Demonstration Grant Funding Support: Portions of this website and related Good Life Guide: A self-guided tour of Inn Serendipity & the renewable energy systems that make it possible were made possible, in part, through funding provided by the Wisconsin Focus on Energy program.
