| Wind-Generated Electricity: UMM Leads the Way for | | | | the awareness of thousands of people, especially |
| American Universities | | | | school children, since its construction in 2005. |
| In March 2005, the University of Minnesota-Morris | | | | The generator is a model of efficiency, and only takes |
| became the first public American university to install a | | | | a breeze of 7-9 mph to begin generating electricity. It |
| large-scale wind turbine to help meet the school's | | | | takes a 26 mph wind to generate the unit's full 1.65 |
| electrical needs. Since it was installed, the generator | | | | megawatts. There's a dedicated power line to the |
| has supplied some 60 percent of the university's | | | | UMM campus, and if the University needs more power, |
| power. The rest of the school's power needs are | | | | the local utility lines provide it automatically, so no one |
| purchased from Otter Tail Power Company's | | | | on campus knows if the power is coming from the |
| Tailwinds Program. | | | | generator or the grid at any given time. On the other |
| Those figures mean that whether the electricity is | | | | side of the coin, whenever UMM's power needs are |
| generated on site or purchased off the grid, 100 | | | | less than what the generator is producing, the excess |
| percent of UMM's electrical power needs are supplied | | | | electric energy is directed back into the local utility grid. |
| by wind power, but the school's commitment to energy | | | | All this is impressive, but the university has even more |
| independence doesn't stop there. The university's | | | | extensive plans for increasing its energy independence. |
| students have helped the school reach toward its | | | | There are plans for the construction of a biomass |
| energy goals by reducing electricity, water, and waste | | | | gasification plant at UMM in 2006, which will be capable |
| needs. The faculty has also gotten into the spirit, as | | | | of meeting 80 percent of the campus' heating and |
| well, placing considerable emphasis on green power | | | | cooling needs. The plant will use stover (stalk residue) |
| and conservation in their classrooms. | | | | from cornfields in the area, as well as waste wood, |
| The UMM 1.65 megawatt Vestas generator is an | | | | other crop residues and various organic stocks as its |
| impressive sight, with 135-foot blades and a 230-foot | | | | fuel base. |
| tower, making the massive machine stand some 365 | | | | The United States as a whole is second only to |
| feet tall, but its impact on the community and the state | | | | Germany in total production of wind-generated |
| of Minnesota goes far greater than that. The | | | | electricity, with California, Texas, and Minnesota leading |
| generator has become a major tourist and field trip | | | | the way. |
| destination in central Minnesota, and has helped raise | | | | Copyright © Jeanette J. Fisher. |