Tired of the high cost of energy, and worried about the environment, two home owners are applying to planning to erect wind turbines on their properties.

Simon Hodgson, partner in S.H.Y. architecture, the company that is helping Bermudian home owners to bring in the turbines, said that the project is still in the experimental stage.

?We are at the early stages testing the feasibility of erecting home wind turbines,? said Mr. Hodgson. You have to get planning permission. We have to go to building control and they will review it.?

One of the wind turbines is planned for 6 Daisyfield Drive, in Sandy?s Parish, owned by the family of Mr. Hodgson and two turbines are planned for 108 Harbour Road, Warwick owned by Tim Miller.

The turbines are about the size of the average satellite dish, six feet in diameter and six feet tall and will probably be attached to a chimney. The turbines are supposed to be virtually silent.

Mr. Hodgson was unable to say how much money would be saved by erecting the turbines.

?If we get permission, then after a year?s worth of operation, we will be able to work that out. There are installation costs to consider. We also don?t know if we will be charged duty on a renewable energy product.

?We are in communications with a company in Scotland that makes the equipment. It is a relatively new technology.?

One issue with wind turbines could be bird strikes, but Mr. Hodgson said this shouldn?t be too much of a problem.

?These things have been signed off in Britain by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA),? he said. ?They have done a rigorous analysis because the actual configuration is quite visible. The blades are made of carbon fibres and the housing is cast iron aluminium.?

Mr. Miller who wants to erect turbines in Warwick, said he was looking at different ways to augment power. He currently runs Linear Business Systems which sells photocopiers.

?We are looking at the price of fuel,? said Mr. Miller. ?We are also looking at photovoltaic energy. That is where you convert solar cells into voltage that you can use to charge batteries.

?We haven?t got the solar panel just yet. We are running solar thermal, which is something else. On sunny days your PV works and on cloudy days it doesn?t work as well, but then you will have wind.?

Mr. Miller said the wind turbines might cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000.

?I am looking at a couple of different models,? he said. ?The wind turbines will probably work with batteries and a piece of equipment called a static inverter which converts the battery power to 110 volts. This could be used to power normal appliances.?

He said his ultimate goal is to one day be entirely off the power grid.

Mr. Miller said at the moment, he is just interested to see how the Department of Planning will react to the turbines.

?A precedent was set with satellite dishes over the years. We have seen circular objects in the residential areas,? he said.

He said there is a definite interest in renewable energy in the community. He hoped that eventually some kind of movement could get off the ground, with lots of people investing in renewable energy.

?It is the way to go,? he said. ?The price of fuel from a financial perspective would be an incentive. There is no reason why electric cars couldn?t be charged off it. As an island we need to be more conscious of renewable energy sources and less dependent on oil.?

Mr. Miller said after two years of operating the turbines, he would know better how feasible it would be for others to try.