Wind Turbines Popping Up in Northfield

By the end of this year, Northfield will be close to generating 6 percent of t energy needs locally. This has been made possible in large part b RENew Northfield.

Carlton College’s 1.65 MW wind turbine was dedicated this September and has been up and running for four months. The college financed the project from their endowment, and is getting what they feel is “a good return on their investment,” said RENew Northfield Board President Bruce Anderson.

St. Olaf College received a $1.1 million Renewable Development Fund grant to build their own 1.65 MW wind turbine, which is expected to generate a large portion of their energy needs.

“They will be directly consuming and directly offsetting energy costs,” Anderson said.

In addition to the turbines at Carleton and St. Olaf, RENew Northfield has negotiated a power purchase agreement for its own turbine that is located a few miles outside of Northfield.

“We have invested a modest amount in the project thus far, and are actively seeking equity partners for a Minnesota flip model,” Anderson said. “We hope that things will accelerate after this year, and we’ll continue making good progress.”

In the fall of 2004, RENew Northfield began exploring local transportation issues to further reduce dependence on fossil fuels. A committee has been formed, and is working toward increasing the use of locally produced renewable fuels and increasing the efficient use of existing transportation.

One idea is to use as Toyota Prius or a Volkswagen Jetta running on biodiesel as an “hour car.” The cooperative use of a vehicle would be ideal for people who don’t need a car full-time, and in the process would cut down on fossil fuel dependence.

Bringing the first locally owned wind turbine on line and continuing community education have been the highlights of RENew Northfield this year, Anderson said.

“We can now show that utility-scale projects are viable in our area,” he said.

To learn more about how RENew Northfield got started, go to http://www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/southeast.html

For more information contact: Bruce Anderson, RENew Northfield 507.646.3454 andersba@stolaf.edu