Turbines Generator save some high desert residents thousands of dollars each yearNew regulations which limit the heights of wind turbines on residential property have many San Bernardino Country residents spinning.

Wind turbines have become popular because of their low cost and ability to make high desert residents energy independent, saving them thousands of dollars each year.

"I haven't paid anything in electricity in 8 1/2 years," Gus Sansone, a turbine owner, told  The San Bernardino Sun.

The Board of Supervisors approved changes to the county code in February hoping to make the permitting process easier for renewable energy projects. In the process, they also put new regulations on a wind turbine's height, The Sun said.

Residents say the regulations reduce the energy output of the wind generators since they perform better at greater heights where the air is stronger and less turbulent.

The new mandates require the maximum height on 2 1/2 to 5 acres to be no more than 80 feet tall, The Sun reported. The maximum height for wind turbines generator on property that is 5 acres or more is 100 feet.

The California Energy commission offers thousands of dollars in rebates to encourage "green" energy sources like wind turbines. After the savings, some residents have paid as little as $16,000 for one.

According to The Sun:

Sansone doesn't understand why the county imposed the restrictions in the first place, believing they were unnecessary.

"The average citizen wouldn't know if the tower was at 80 feet or 100 feet. The average person can't look across the terrain and say, `that's 100 feet"' Sansone said. "When I went from 60 to 80 feet, my (energy) production increased by 36 percent. Other people who took theirs from 80 feet to 100 jumped another 17 percent above that."

County Supervisors declined to comment on the new regulations.

Some experts believe wind energy could provide as much as 20 percent of California's electricity supply by 2020, The Sun reported