Indiana’s Amish community is going big into solar and wind power generation, according to this Chicago Sun-Times article:

GRABILL, Ind. — Northeastern Indiana’s large Amish community is starting to embrace wind and solar energy to power their homes’ lights, refrigerators and other equipment.

Although many Amish rejected high-voltage electricity in the early 1920s because of the power lines that would have connected their people to the outside world, limited use of site-generated, low-voltage electricity is acceptable to many Amish.

The latest Amish resident hoping to tap into natural energy sources is 63-year-old Victor Wagler. He’s seeking permission from Allen County officials to erect a $15,000 steel tower that will stand 87 feet and be topped with a wind-driven, electricity-producing turbine.

‘‘With the cost of fuel, it should pay for itself in three years,’’ Wagler told The News-Sentinel of Fort Wayne for a story published Saturday.

Along with the generator and a solar panel, it would power the lights in his home and barn near Grabill, about 10 miles northeast of Fort Wayne, along with the refrigerator and freezer.

Wagler hopes a zoning hearing officer approves his wind turbine during a meeting Tuesday.

According to papers filed with the county, the proposed turbine would generate about 538 kilowatts of electricity per month at a wind speed of 12 miles per hour.

Even a cursory drive through northeast Allen County’s Amish country reveals several barn roofs adorned with high-tech windmills that — while much closer to the ground and smaller than Wagler’s proposed 7-foot blades — have much the same function.

Full story:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1138117,amish083108.article

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