Thomas R. Conlon made his first trip to China in January 2001, where he found a potential market for his windmill business.

The 50-year-old wind energy expert from Hawaii was invited by the Physics Faculty of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing to work on a project. Since he finished the job which was expected to take a month in three days, he decided to take the opportunity to travel around the country.

He took a train from Beijing to Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province. Looking out the window at the passing landscape for hours, Conlon was surprised to find there wasn't a single windmill in the countryside along the way.

"The windmill remains an important symbol of the American farm," Conlon said. "I just didn't understand why Chinese farmers don't use windmills."

Later he found out why.

"Most Chinese farmers have no idea of windmills. They think windmills are out-of-date and are built only for their aesthetic value. Few of them know that these simple machines could be an economical power source for pumping water," he said.

Conlon realized China was an unexplored market for the windmill business.

With a rural population of more than 700 million, there must be great demand for water-pumping windmills, especially in the dry western and northern regions of the country, he said.

In July 2001, Conlon came to China again, travelling around Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces for a month to conduct extensive marketing research.

His second trip was so productive that he made up his mind to establish a windmill manufacturing base in China.

In September of 2002, Conlon saw his dream come to life when his company, Iron Man Windmill Co Ltd, was set up in Wuhan of Hubei Province.

A new start

Conlon grew up in the San Fernando Valley outside of Los Angeles, where many of the farms still had old windmills. At the age of 15, he went to visit a family friend who was a windmill expert in his late 70s living in the desert in a small village.

Conlon made his first windmill an electricity-generating model at the age of 19 and started a small windmill manufacturing business in his 20s. His business grew rapidly and he also became a young expert in the application of windmill technology.

In hopes of leading a more relaxing life, Conlon sold his business interests and retired in Hawaii in 1982. Since then, Conlon began to work with the University of Hawaii, which designs and manufactures many different types of science equipment.

For Conlon, running a windmill business in China is a new and challenging experience.

"It's not easy. I'm facing a lot of problems," Conlon said of his four-year-long stay in the country.

"There is much interest, but people in China are not familiar with the windmills, so we must do a lot of education."

To promote awareness about the advantages windmills offer, Conlon often visited rural areas where people needed a better way to get water.

"Once people see windmills working, they immediately understand how these machines can be a big help for them and help them improve their economic situation," Conlon said.

He recalls one time that he was informed that a windmill project had run into problems in a village near Xi'an.

He and some of his technicians hurried to the installation site.

They found the cause of the problem immediately upon arrival, but the repair process was slow-going due to the village's remote location and the lack of facilities.

Conlon's team spent about five hours fixing the problem, and during this time, the sight of Conlon and his windmill drew a crowd of villagers. Once the installation was completed, Conlon explained to the villagers how the windmill worked.

He still remembers the villagers' happy faces when they saw the wheel begin to roll and water pumping out.

"At that moment I realized that all my efforts were worthwhile," Conlon said.

Optimistic future

Most of the windmills Conlon built in China are used to pump water. The prices for water-pumping windmills, ranging from 10,000 (US$1,250) to 230,000 yuan (US$28,750), are much cheaper than electricity-generating models.

"Yet, price is still a big issue. Many people who would like to use windmills simply cannot afford them," Conlon said.

He knows he has a long way to go, but he is very optimistic about the future.

China is facing a water shortage and the Chinese government is committed to increasing the use of clean and renewable energy, including wind power.

He believes that windmill technology could provide the solution.

"Using windmills, farmers can pump water from wells, lakes, ponds or reservoirs a low-cost and efficient method," Conlon said.

Many people in the West have returned to windmills as an alternative energy source for keeping water available for crops and livestock, as well as keeping ponds full, according to Conlon.

"The wind is free, and the windmills operate very efficiently. The maintenance needed by windmills is very minimal, and as long as they are maintained, the windmill pumps water without much attention needed," he explained.

So far, Conlon's windmill projects are scattered across Hebei, Shaanxi, Henan and Inner Mongolia.

Presently, he and his employees are working on a project in Wuhan, where a windmill is being built in a residential community as a landscape feature and an energy-saving device.

"It will be a demonstration to help people living in the city know about windmills," said Richard Pan, a sales manager of the company.

Pan used to work with Conlon in Hawaii, and the two have been friends for more than 20 years. Greatly influenced by Conlon's enthusiasm, Pan joined the company about a year ago.

Life in China

Living in China was also an interesting and challenging experience for Conlon and his family.

Though he has learned to speak some putonghua, his communicative abilities are not as good as he wants them to be.

In his spare time, Conlon likes to ride his three-wheel motorcycle, travelling to every corner of Wuhan.

He said the charm of China's cities come from their looks and the feelings they convey to people.

Conlon is also an amateur photographer. He has taken thousands of pictures recording his discoveries and happy memories during his four-year stay in China. Some of his photos even won awards in photography competitions.

At first, Conlon's wife, a Japanese, did not understand why he wanted to trade a comfortable life in Hawaii for a rather difficult situation in China. But after living in Wuhan for years, she fell in love with the country and became more supportive of Conlon and his work with the windmill project.

His 15-year-old son, who came with Conlon at the beginning, now studies at an international high school in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.

"I'm glad that my son's language ability is much better than mine," Conlon said.

(China Daily 10/04/2006 page8)