April 3, 2005
Renewable Energy
Greetings from the bog!
May 20, 2005. The WATER Foundation announced today that
it was successful in helping the Morrison County Agricultural
Society obtain a $20,000 grant from Minnesota Power to
put up a wind turbine on the Morrison County Fairgrounds
in 2005. The wind turbine is a 20 kilowatt Jacobs system
with a 31 foot rotor on a 120 foot tower, which will produce
enough electricity to power a small farm (estimated 15,000
to 20,000 kilowatt hours per year). The total installed
cost for this system is $50,000 and with good maintenance,
it will pay for itself quickly and produce that power/income
for The Morrison County Ag Society for many decades, as
proven by Jacobs since 1930. The ground breaking ceremony
will be held tomorrow, 5-25-05, at the Morrison County
fairgrounds at 11am. The tower tip-up ceremony will be
on July 20 at 11am. Media is welcome.
The turbine will be installed in time for the Morrison
County Fair in 2005 (July 27-30), so come see it! Through
the efforts of The WATER Foundation, the Morrison County
Fair also became the home of the Windy River Fair in 2004.
The Windy River Fair is a Sustainable Agriculture and
Renewable Energy “fair”, held in conjunction with the
Morrison County Fair, on the east end of the fairgrounds,
the same dates as above. See www.windyriver.us for details.
The WATER Foundation and the Morrison County Agricultural
Society will kick off public education programs and tours
on Wind Power via the new wind turbine during the Windy
River Fair. This will be the first county fair in Minnesota
that will have a permanent wind turbine on their grounds
(and may be the first in the USA). The turbine will feature
educational signage on its base explaining the basics
of the technology, the costs of getting electricity from
the wind, the financial benefits for the homeowner or
farmer and the pollution reduction benefits for all. The
Windy River Fair website will display the actual production
and income earned from the wind turbine, updated on a
monthly basis for all to see. Visit www.windyriver.us
often for updates.
Minnesota Power is a progressive investor-owned utility
serving north and central Minnesota. They are one of the
leading utility companies in the nation in promoting sustainable,
renewable energy such as wind, solar and geothermal. They
have an ongoing rebate of $2.00 per watt for solar and
$200.00 per ton for geothermal and now, a few special
wind turbine grants. You can see more information about
Minnesota Power's incentives at www.mnpower.com.
The WATER Foundation promotes renewable energy and sustainable
agriculture to help keep our water clean. Much of the
mercury found in our fish, water and food supplies comes
from the coal fired power plants either spewing out mercury
or creating acid rain which then leaches mercury out of
the soil and into the water. The Foundation will be installing
several other wind turbines on other sites during 2005.
The WATER Foundation's facilities feature geothermal heating
and cooling, solar electricity and a small wind turbine,
as well as composting toilets, greywater system, a geothermally
cooled food/crop storage building and many other types
of conservation technologies.
Bog Frog
Top Hopper
218 764 2321
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