Warren Roos sounded like he was talking about a new line of sports cars. “These are sleek and sexy,” he said this week.

Roos was, in fact, talking about a new wind turbine he plans to put up at his home. The new line of turbines from Skystream are not the giant, towering windmills of yesteryear, according to Roos.

Unfortunately, they aren’t cheap. The turbine Roos wants to erect at his house will set him back about $13,000.

However, with the strong winds at his Kettle Cove Road home – strong enough to shake his home occasionally – Roos believes he can recoup the cost in about six years.

That’s part of the reason towns and the state should do anything possible to encourage more homeowners to use wind power. It’s cheap, once homeowners get beyond the initial investment, and it’s also a renewable source of energy.

Cape Elizabeth residents can do their part to support wind power by speaking out in favor of allowing wind turbines at residences at a public hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 18, at Town Hall.

Despite the benefit using wind power can have for our environment, wind turbines aren’t always popular. Residential wind turbines and wind farms have faced opposition in many places around the country from neighbors who consider them ugly and noisy.

Roos has already faced some opposition from someone who lives quite close to him – his wife. But, Roos said, she was more amenable to the idea once she saw a picture of what he had in mind.

Despite the opposition wind power sometimes faces, Maine has been a leader in this developing this renewable energy. New England’s largest wind farm is located in Mars Hill, where 28 turbines are generating power for 45,000 homes. An even larger wind farm at Stetson Mountain has also been approved.

Business at Southwest Windpower, the company that produces the Skystream wind generators like the one Roos wants to install at his home, has grown 40 percent in the last year. Lindsey Burgess, a spokeswoman for Southwest Windpower, said 1,400 generators have been sold, and 50 of those have gone to people in Maine.

One turbine went to one of the state’s most prominent residents – former president George H.W. Bush. The family had one installed at Walker’s Point in Kennebunkport.

Unfortunately, wind turbines are largely owned by those who have the financial means to purchase them. Because of the cost, that’s a rather exclusive group right now. However, they will come down in price as more people purchase them, and that can’t happen until more towns allow them.

Wind farms offer the biggest steps forward in making renewable energy available because they can provide energy to thousands of homes. They are, however, typically far more controversial than a single residential turbine. The zoning changes Cape Elizabeth are now considering stop short of allowing them.

Brendan Moran, editor