9/21/09
Advisor to National Solar Decathlon National Mall Wash. DC
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9/13/09
85-year-old ups and buys windmill / When asked why, Washington Township man says, 'Because I didn't have one'
By ROB SPAHR Staff Writer, 609-272-7283
Published: September 12, 2009
Page in newspaper: C6 Like many people his age, Charles "Chick" Croce has yet to master the intricacies of the remote control to his television or some of his modern household appliances. Still, the 85-year-old World War II veteran is trendier than most senior citizens. He regularly sports a pair of Ugg boots, and, since Aug. 24, he has powered his 125-year-old home with alternative energy using a 100-foot-tall, 10-kilowatt wind turbine. "We just kind of fall into things around here," said Croce of how the turbine ended up on his 37-acre property on the Mullica River. The details of the story are not much more complicated than that. Croce's family and friends tried to talk him out of it. "If he was 50 years old, I'd say go ahead because he'd have time to recoup what he invested into it," said Croce's longtime live-in friend Jeanne Morgan. "It's a little too advanced of an age to be doing that kind of thing." But one day when everyone was out of the house, Croce signed the paperwork to purchase the $56,000 turbine from the agent (JBS Solar and Wind of Cape May NJ). And when his friends and family asked him why, he responded: "Because I didn't have one." Then it all made sense. "Chick's always been a pioneer. He likes being able to say that he's done something that no one else has done," Morgan said. "And when he makes up his mind to get something like that, he wants to make sure it's the biggest and the best." In 1988, Croce was riding his bike along River Road when he came across a dilapidated home on the roadside with 1,200 feet of Mullica River frontage. "I thought to myself, 'Why would I put myself through that nightmare?'" said Croce, a retired State Police lieutenant who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters for his service as an Air Force ball-turret on B-17 bombers in WWII. Despite that first reaction, "When I got home, I called the agent and bought it." He promptly renovated it and then moved in. Of the $56,000 Croce spent on the turbine, Morgan said, the state is expected to send him rebates worth about $36,000. "We're hoping the state doesn't run out of money before he gets it," Morgan said. It took about two years for Croce to navigate through the arduous permit process, but now all that's left is for him to understand how the turbine works and how it will affect his energy bills. "There are all kinds of different things out there, and I don't know what half of it is for," Croce joked. And while his motive behind buying the turbine was simple, Croce hopes the result will have a meaningful impact. "I like it here because it is just like it was 100 years ago," Croce said of the quiet section of Lower Bank where he lives. "Hopefully this will help keep things going, as far as the wildlife is concerned."
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2/3/09
Had the pleasure to spend three days in Barre with the Northern group. Newly funded with a new business plan. Very inspiring group to work with. Receptive and reactive to the needs of their distributors. I personally feel this machine will ultimately be considered best in its class. Watch for the new 2MW turbine to be unveiled.
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Excellent training session 1/27-1/29 2009
Northern Power Systems training in Barre Vermont.
A state of the art machine with brand new management. Watch for this one!!!
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