Outer Banks brewery trims costs with wind power

Outer Banks brewery trims costs with wind power

Dawn Kurry
Staff Writer- Triangle Business Journal

The Outer Banks Brewing Station in Kill Devil Hills is known as the first wind-
powered brewery in the country, according to the Southern Alliance for Clean
Energy.
Established in 2001, founders Eric Reece and Aubrey Davis envisioned an
environmentally friendly brew pub. Long-time Outer Banks visitors may remember
it as the old JK's location.
During the winter months, the restaurant is closed, but brew master Scott Meyer is
still there working, so I was lucky he picked up the phone.
Meyer says the wind turbine, a BWC Excel with a rotor diameter of 23 feet that sits
on a self-supported lattice tower 80 feet up, shaves about $150-$250 off the
brewery's electricity bill each month.
"There were other breweries buying wind credit before us, but we are the first to
be powered by a wind turbine," Meyer says. "The bill is usually higher than $250
for us, so the wind turbine sets it off. You have windy months and not-so-windy
months. Spring time – March, April, May – that's our windiest time."
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy says the Outer Banks Brewing Station is
one of 14 prime examples of how wind turbines spur eco-tourism.
"Inside the restaurant customers can view information on the turbine and the
amount of energy it generates," writes Allie Brown on the CleanEnergy.org blog.
According to Brown, the wind turbine will offset approximately 1.2 tons of air
pollutants and 250 tons of greenhouse gases over its operating life.