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Electric turbine begins operation
Published 12:00pm Friday, August 3, 2007The largest wind-driven electric turbine in Otter Tail County was dedicated Thursday afternoon at the office site of Vinco, Inc.
“This is a great opportunity for Fergus Falls,” Sen. Dan Skogen said. “We are standing on the future. In order to get 25 percent of our power from wind, we need to put up a lot of these.”
Skogen alluded to the bill signed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty in February that requires 25 percent of the state’s electricity to come from next-generation power sources by 2025, a goal some advocates think will be achieved even sooner.
According to Vinco Sales Representative Jim Pederson, the wind turbine produces electricity equivalent to burning six tons of coal per year. As the turbine was turned on into a 14 mph wind, it was producing 22 kilowatts of power.
“It’s not a source, but it works well in conjunction with other sources of power,” he said.
Ten other turbines are on site at Vinco being prepared for installation. The turbines belong to Working Wind Song Energy, LLC., a company led by ShoreMaster founder Dennis Tuel. A 75-foot turbine will be dedicated on Tuel’s property near Big Chief Truck Stop later this month.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” Stanislawski said. “It’s just another way of reducing our dependence on nonrenewable sources.”
Minnesota is ideal geographically for wind turbines and ranks ninth in the country as states most viable for wind energy. North Dakota tops the list, while South Dakota ranks fourth. The Otter Tail County region benefits from wind gusts near the continental divide and the old Lake Agassiz bed, a glacial lake that covered parts of Minnesota, North Dakota and Canada.
