Green Energy

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Submitted by rl on Wed, 10/08/2008 - 11:30

400 foot wind towers

Two interesting energy topics are confronting electric energy users in the Midwest now. The first is a story written by a commercial farm supply retailer and, the other is an electric rate increase in northern Minnesota.

I receive many stories either written or verbal on wind turbines and/or energy conservation. I investigate them all.

The first topic is a story is in the Mills Fleet Farm's Winter 2008 Farm Life Specialty Magazine. The title “Green Energy on the Farm; The Future of Wind Turbines” drew my interest immediately. In Wisconsin? I asked myself.

Doing research throughout the past ten years on wind energy I recalled that most land masses east of the Mississippi are generally low wind speeds. I picked the informative book “Wind Power for Home and Businesses” by Paul Gipe from my library.

The wind assessment map did not illustrate favorable wind speeds through out Wisconsin. The anemometer readings are taken from a height of one hundred feet. The wind turbines are saddled on 400 foot towers. For perspective the Wind Turbines at Lake Benton in Minnesota are saddled on 200 foot towers.

From a picture in the story a sign is shown stating “Good Neighbors Don't Host 400 Foot Wind Turbines”. The sign does not state any wind turbine it states 400 foot wind towers.

Obviously the State of Wisconsin is going to great heights to produce ten percent of their electric energy usage through appropriate energy. The extreme height is to utilize the trade winds which may be of greater proficiency than the land winds at Lake Benton.

I understand the resentment of the stewards of the lands where the wind turbines stand. Wisconsin is similar to Minnesota as far as implementing appropriate energy production on a large scale; Solar energy is limited to availability of sunshine and wind flows.

If the value of the land is based on the market price of corn a stipulation should have been incorporated in the lease agreement. The ascetics of rural life are diminishing rapidly though other changes as well.

The demand of the Department of Energy to the electric producing utilities to produce 10% of their energy via appropriate energy is noble plan. The monetary and ascetics confront everyone, but the rural residents need to remember that the consumers that buy the products produced on the farms need electricity for refrigeration and cooking their products.

Not a perfect solution proposed by the DOE. Perhaps the DOE could have stipulated that a 10% reduction in electric consumption statewide could have replaced the 10% electric production via appropriate energy. If that would have been implemented the users would have seen conservation as means to the goal. Continued in part two

R.L. Philippi