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Fort Madison man wants to build wind farm near city
By Joe Benedict /MVM News Network
FORT MADISON - There's a lot of talk in Lee County about renewable energy. The arrival of Siemens wind turbine blade factory in Fort Madison and the possibility of a wind generator tower factory coming to Keokuk leads to the question why can't the area take advantage of this renewable energy?
One Fort Madison resident and recent mayoral candidate is attempting to answer this question by saying there's no reason we can't use this technology. Brian Wright wants to see a wind farm near Fort Madison. He hopes the energy generated by that farm will create energy for the city and possibly create revenue.
Wright said he started thinking about the idea while he was running for mayor. Tim Benson mentioned it to him while he was campaigning and Wright started to do some research. He and friend Chuck Vandenberg spent many hours looking into the logistics of creating a windfarm.
He said there are two ways to go as far as ownership. It could be a private investment or a municipal one. The municipal choice is the one Wright prefers. The city would sell the electricity created by the wind turbines to Alliant Energy. Wright said it is a state code that electric companies buy all electricity created by wind turbines.
Wright also has talked to Siemens' officials about the idea.
“It would only make sense for them to put one (a turbine) up to power their plant,” Wright said.
The idea could grow into a countywide concept as well. Wright said with the wind turbine tower plant attempting to open in Keokuk, perhaps it would like to get on board with the concept and a farm could be created somewhere between the two cities. Wright said that may work out to help power Fort Madison's proposed water treatment facility scheduled to be built near Siemens.
A major hurdle is funding. Wright said Siemens plant manager Bjarne Joergensen said each turbine would cost about $3.2 million. Wright's idea is to have three to five turbines. Three turbines would provide enough electricity for Fort Madison and the extra ones would pay for maintenance of the system and possibly make a profit.
The state and federal government are beginning to set aside money for grants for projects such as this. Gov. Chet Culver has made renewable energy an issue in the state and wants $25 million set aside for projects like Wright's. Iowa currently is one of the fastest growing wind harvesters in the U.S., and the U.S. is third in the world for using wind energy.
The other positives are that it is clean production of electricity. There are no smokestacks sending clouds of biproducts into the air like a coal plant. It also eases reliance on foreign energy.
Wright also said there are some negatives that need to be considered as well. The paths of migratory birds have to be considered and the blades do make some noise while cutting through the wind. Wright said some people don't like the looks of the giant turbines crowding up the skyline either, but with only about five on a farm, that shouldn't be much of a concern.
The blades need at least a 4 mph wind to operate. Wright said some areas around here do have that, especially as high in the air as the turbines are.
Part two will look into the technical aspects and the plan in more detail.
One Fort Madison resident and recent mayoral candidate is attempting to answer this question by saying there's no reason we can't use this technology. Brian Wright wants to see a wind farm near Fort Madison. He hopes the energy generated by that farm will create energy for the city and possibly create revenue.
Wright said he started thinking about the idea while he was running for mayor. Tim Benson mentioned it to him while he was campaigning and Wright started to do some research. He and friend Chuck Vandenberg spent many hours looking into the logistics of creating a windfarm.
He said there are two ways to go as far as ownership. It could be a private investment or a municipal one. The municipal choice is the one Wright prefers. The city would sell the electricity created by the wind turbines to Alliant Energy. Wright said it is a state code that electric companies buy all electricity created by wind turbines.
Wright also has talked to Siemens' officials about the idea.
“It would only make sense for them to put one (a turbine) up to power their plant,” Wright said.
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A major hurdle is funding. Wright said Siemens plant manager Bjarne Joergensen said each turbine would cost about $3.2 million. Wright's idea is to have three to five turbines. Three turbines would provide enough electricity for Fort Madison and the extra ones would pay for maintenance of the system and possibly make a profit.
The state and federal government are beginning to set aside money for grants for projects such as this. Gov. Chet Culver has made renewable energy an issue in the state and wants $25 million set aside for projects like Wright's. Iowa currently is one of the fastest growing wind harvesters in the U.S., and the U.S. is third in the world for using wind energy.
The other positives are that it is clean production of electricity. There are no smokestacks sending clouds of biproducts into the air like a coal plant. It also eases reliance on foreign energy.
Wright also said there are some negatives that need to be considered as well. The paths of migratory birds have to be considered and the blades do make some noise while cutting through the wind. Wright said some people don't like the looks of the giant turbines crowding up the skyline either, but with only about five on a farm, that shouldn't be much of a concern.
The blades need at least a 4 mph wind to operate. Wright said some areas around here do have that, especially as high in the air as the turbines are.
Part two will look into the technical aspects and the plan in more detail.
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