Press Releases
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December 16, 1998
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carol Renner, Communications/Govt
Relations Director, 218-299-5407
WIND TURBINE CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY IN MOORHEAD
Moorhead Public Service customers who signed up as Charter Members of
the Capture The Wind® program are on step closer to purchasing
wind-generated electricity, as ground was broken for construction of the new
wind turbine today. A concrete foundation on which the 750-kilowatt wind
turbine will be located is being built, as the first phase of construction
got underway this week.
More than 24 tons of steel rebar are being used in the 44-foot square
concrete pad which will hold the wind turbine. "The turbine itself is
180 feet high with a rotor that is 156 feet in diameter," according to
Christopher Reed, director of energy services and marketing for Moorhead
Public Service. "This is the first phase of construction. The turbine
will be manufactured and shipped in pieces to Moorhead for assembly in the
spring of 1999," said Reed.
More than 400 Moorhead Public Service customers have signed up as Charter
Members of the Capture The Wind program to buy electricity generated by
wind. "Wind power is renewable and affordable. Wind turns the turbine
rotors that spin the generator that makes electricity. No need to mine, burn
or dispose of anything," said Bill Schwandt, general manager of
Moorhead Public Service.
For wind power program subscribers, it will cost them just a half-penny more
per kilowatt hour. By participating, customers save resources for future
generations. An average customer who participates in the program and uses
1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each month will stop 8,800 pounds of
greenhouse gases from being emitted into the air. "That is equivalent
to planting 1.2 acres of trees, or removing a car from the road each
year," explained Christopher Reed of MPS.
The wind turbine is located at the northeast edge of Moorhead, near
Centennial Ball Fields. the turbine is being built by N
E G Micon®
at a cost of $667,000. The Denmark-based firm has manufactured more than
6,500 turbines worldwide. Moorhead's 750-kilowatt turbine is scheduled to
begin producing electricity by June 1999.
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