Every morning, Randy Kaup and Buddy the family beagle check out the 100-foot, three-bladed wind generator that provides 20 to 25 percent of power for his home near Emerald.

He logs wind direction and speed and checks the meters.

One meter is attached to the generator so he can check its daily production.

One measures the power Kaup is buying from Lincoln Electric System.

And a third records the power he's selling back to LES.

Kaup is one of three LES net metering customers who produce electricity through solar or wind and sell it back to LES, said the utility's Todd Hall. Five other customers have applied to use net metering.

Twenty-seven years after Kaup pioneered the concept in the Lincoln area, the Nebraska Legislature is expected to pass the state's first law requiring power districts to accept small net metering customers.

Under the law, net metering customers would buy electricity when they need it, use the electricity they produce and sell any excess to the company.

Thursday, senators gave 45-0 first-round passage to a bill (LB436) that is expected to move easily through the next stages, and make Nebraska the 43rd state with a net metering law.

"For the first time, Nebraska will have a statewide, uniform, simple, easy-to-understand net metering law for small energy generation," said Sen. Ken Haar of Malcolm, sponsor of the measure.

The measure does not require power districts to accept larger renewable energy projects (those above 25-kilowatt hours), which precludes many ag uses, Haar noted.

"No one will do this to make money," he said.

The law "will encourage greater renewable energy in Nebraska. It will facilitate energy self-reliance. And it will promote economic development for those who buy and sell small energy equipment," he said.

And the bill "has the endorsement of about everyone on this planet with the exception of about a dozen constituents," said Haar, referring to a group of opponents who staged a protest at the Capitol on April 3.

One of those opponents -Robert Byrnes of Oakland, president of Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems - called it a power industry bill.

The net metering language means power companies don't have to work with larger businesses or farm projects, Byrnes said, and makes it financially impractical for larger projects.

While renewable energy businesses in other states with broader net metering laws are flourishing, "we have to chew on rawhide strips," he said.

"We are behind in the eighth inning," he said. "Incrementalism is not going to allow us to catch up."

Byrnes and other opponents supported the original bill, which was changed through negotiations with the state's electric power industry.

But several senators called the bill a starting point.

"We have a foot in the door," said Sen. Annette Dubas of Fullerton.

Haar acknowledged the compromise bill is "less" than he planned. He hopes to work with groups this summer to expand it so more ag-related uses will be covered.

Kaup, who paid about $12,000 or $13,000 after tax breaks for his wind generator, hasn't yet broken even on his investment.

But he knew this wouldn't be a money-maker.

"It's still a fascination for me," says Kaup, an electrician who's not afraid of heights and does his own maintenance work.

"The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys," he says.

He also has three solar panels that heat his 82-gallon water tank.

"Frankly, I think that is more cost-effective than wind energy."

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.