Chandler wind turbines generate electricity for co-op consumers
Elk River, MN (February 16, 1999) - “Renewable energy” in the form of wind power is now available to electric co-op consumers in Minnesota and Wisconsin. A ribbon cutting ceremony conducted Feb. 12 commemorated construction of three giant wind turbines located near Chandler, Minn.
“Great River Energy is proud to be the first utility system in Minnesota to allow customers to voluntarily purchase all or part of their energy from a renewable resource,” said Rick Lancaster, Great River Energy vice president of public affairs.
Construction of the wind turbines was completed Dec. 15, and the three turbines began generating electricity that same day.
“This is considered an environmentally friendly way of generating electricity,” said Tim Seck, Great River Energy’s wind project coordinator. “This wind project was unique because it was a voluntary effort, not a state legislative mandate. Electric cooperative consumers told us they wanted renewable energy and that they were willing to pay a little more for it.”
After a six-month campaign enough consumers had signed up for blocks of 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity at a small additional cost for each energy blocks.
The three wind turbines generate 2 megawatts of electricity, enough to meet the entire energy needs of approximately 600 homes. They are the tallest turbines in the nation, reaching more than 206 feet in the air.
”The Chandler wind turbines represent a visionary approach to green marketing,” John Dunlop, the Great Plains representative for the American Wind Energy Association, told those attending the ribbon cutting ceremony. “Great River Energy’s collaboration with environmental and renewable energy advocates resulted in an innovative and credible green-pricing program.”
Great River Energy is a generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative headquartered in Elk River, Minn., serving 29 electric cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Neighboring G&T, Dairyland Power Cooperative of LaCrosse, Wis., purchases one-third of the wind generators’ energy output, helping make the project more economical. Great River Energy member cooperative, Nobles Cooperative of Worthington, Minn., provides distribution and interconnection services to the wind generators.
