Curt and Christine Mann are renovating their Grant Park house to make it green to the nth degree. They're recycling wood, installing airtight foam insulation and solar lighting, and capturing gray water to flush toilets. But what sets the Manns apart from other enviro-conscious families is their plan to install a device not seen in any other Atlanta neighborhood - a 45-foot wind turbine. When the turbine's three 6-foot blades spin, electricity will be generated to help power the home. The Manns say the planned wind tower in their yard shows a commitment to rely less on fossil fuels and help curb global warming. "We're just trying to walk the talk," Christine Mann said. They're also testing the limits of green tolerance in Grant Park, a historic neighborhood near Turner Field and Oakland Cemetery that's considered liberal and environmentally aware. Opponents say the tower, which received a permit from the city, will be nothing more than a giant yard ornament on a street where old houses have been lovingly preserved.

The yearlong data collection is finished in a wind-power viability study in Floyd County, but analysis of the results will take several weeks. Green Power EMC, a joint effort by 17 of the state’s electric cooperatives, set up an assessment tower in summer 2005 atop Oglethorpe Power’s Rocky Mountain Hydroelectric Plant, off Big Texas Valley Road. The 200-foot tower — a pole with wind-measuring equipment, a thermometer and other recording devices — recently finished collecting data about wind speed and direction.