Wind turbines fit with farms

by jboullion | May 27, 2010 | Uncategorized

From an editorial in the Wisconsin State Journal:

Congratulations to the Columbia County Board for recognizing last week that wind turbines complement farmland preservation.

The board agreed Wednesday that farmers in the towns of Randolph and Scott can lease small amounts of land to We Energies for wind turbines without violating their state agreements to keep their land in agricultural production.

The board’s decision is wise because the turbines will give each farmer thousands of dollars in extra income to keep their farm operations going. And the amount of land taken out of production for turbine foundations and access roads will be miniscule compared to the total size of cropland that will remain.

We Energies also has agreed to buy two homes from neighbors who were concerned about living within a quarter mile of some of the turbines.

That means this exciting wind project in northeast Columbia County can now move forward with 90 turbines scattered across some 17,000 acres of productive farmland.

We Energies started developing the site, called Glacier Hills Energy Park, last week. It’s located about 50 miles northeast of Madison.

The energy company hopes to fire up the wind park by the end of next year or early 2012. It will produce enough clean energy to power 45,000 homes.

Wisconsin’s wind industry is just taking off, and more clean energy is needed to reduce Wisconsin’s reliance on dirty coal and gas that’s imported from other states and foreign countries.

Canadian company’s first U.S. turbine spins plenty of power for cranberry farm

by jboullion | May 24, 2010 | Uncategorized

From a news release issued by RENEW Wisconsin:

MORE INFORMATION
Ry Thompson
Seventh Generation Energy Systems
608.467.0123
thompson@seventhgenergy.org

Alicia Leinberger
Seventh Generation Energy Systems
608-333-5375
alicia@seventhgenergy.org

Canadian company’s first U.S. turbine spins plenty of power for cranberry farm

Dentist Frederick Prehn, owner of Prehn Cranberry Marsh near Tomah, wanted the power that the cranberry farm paid for without having to pay the utility.

“The second order of business, I wanted a turbine that has a history of working in low wind speed,” said Prehn.

A 35-kilowatt (kW) Canadian turbine, perched on a 140-foot-tall tower, accomplishes both. The first of its model line ever manufactured by Endurance Wind Power, Prehn’s wind generator underwent five months of testing at the company’s Quebec manufacturing facility.

“Wind speeds are all relative,” Prehn said. “The wind speed in the cranberry bog isn’t as good as the Great Lakes, but I’m amazed. I’ve gone through all the data I can gather, and the turbine is producing pretty well.”

“The Endurance fits Wisconsin’s climate conditions,” according to Ry Thompson, a project manager with Seventh Generation Energy, Madison, which installed the turbine.

“We’ve been eager to install one of these,” Thompson said. “It’s a very well-designed, durable machine and the 30-foot long blades make it suitable to lower wind speed environments, as are common in Wisconsin,” Thompson said.

“This should be a very popular turbine among farmers, schools, small municipalities, and manufacturing facilities,” he added.