To the Journal editor:

My wife, Christine, and I didn’t install a wind turbine to power our home for the economic benefits. We did it because it was the right thing to do for future generations.

Now, 10 years later, we’re delighted to say that our decision was the right one, not only for our conscience, but also for our wallets.

Shortly after installing our first wind turbine, we found that we were meeting all of our electrical needs. With the help of a GreenMax Home grant through Alger Delta Cooperative Electric Association and WPPI Energy, we then replaced our water and space heating propane boiler with an electric heat pump, converted a small Chevy pickup to an all-electric vehicle, and also installed a larger wind turbine.

As a result, not only are we saving $2,000-3,000 every year on electricity, propane, and gasoline, we’re actually earning credit back on our electric bill.

With the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent announcement of the Clean Power Plan, which will require our state to reduce its carbon emissions rate by 39 percent, Michigan’s economy could truly prosper.

The state has the flexibility to choose how it will meet those reductions, but it’s clear to our family that the local economy could benefit from putting a priority on investing in more renewable energy.

In order to do that, it’s crucial that our policymakers, who are currently rewriting Michigan’s state energy policy, encourage more renewable power development. The most effective way to do this is through a new and heightened Renewable Portfolio Standard, which originally required Michigan to derive 10 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2015.

It’s a goal that we’re clearly on pace to achieve, and one small indication of how well our state can do by investing in renewable energy.

I hope that state legislators will make the right decision for Michigan’s bottom line by reinstating the Renewable Portfolio Standard.

Sam Simonetta

Deerton