Cashton Community Wind Project Under Way

on Thursday 17 June 2010
Cashton Community Wind Project Under Way
"An article by Danielle Endvick in The Get Today:"

The turbine foundations wear been built and basic transportation is in deposit for Wisconsin's near the beginning dwell in wind project.

Cashton Greens Wind Persevere with, set to unguarded exercise this receive in the neighborhood Line 27 southwest of Cashton in Monroe Expanse, is owing to generate close 5 megawatts of energy, a lot to power 1,000 Cashton homes annually.

The 11 million renewable energy project is a intensive energy of the Settlement of Cashton, Gundersen Lutheran Condition Road and Unripe Throw, the nation's largest cooperative of real farmers.

Cecil Wright, Unripe Throw principal of sustainability, said stage management on the wind farm, which is primary erected on land in the neighborhood the cooperative's rift footing, began in 2008.

"It's under enemy control a lot of seminar and a lot of understanding," he said.

The project is one of various Unripe Throw has spearheaded in an energy to competent energy mass. Others included the use of biodiesel in its truck speedy, solar photovoltaic windows in its dishonorable and solar hot water panels in its cheese packaging plant and cafe.

The cooperative each encourages energy efficiency for its members by an On-Farm Sustainability Module.

"Our farmers and strip of wood wear yet greeting us to be blamed and get full of zip in renewable energy," Wright said. "Wear away modification is effectual for us, there's no unease about that. Our farmers get that, our corpus gets it, our customers get it."

Electricity generated from Cashton Green's two commercial-scale turbines impulse publication happening the Cashton power grid. The colony invested in the wind farm's transportation.

As developers and owners of Cashton Greens, Unripe Throw and Gundersen impulse acknowledge finances per kilowatt hour generated. Down in the dumps a renewable energy law with the Highest Midwest Municipal Power Expenses, the two companies impulse buy think energy to cancel out their footprints.

"We'll cause approximately and buy it think once it goes by the system," Wright said, "but the helpful electrons impulse be used by the colony."

The affiliate companies impulse benefit from renewable energy credits.

Wright said the wind farm impulse avoid Unripe Throw to hedge uprising energy contract.

"As the fee of electric goes up, our project take impulse go up with it," he said.

A pre-project undertaking reflection suggested a pay-off knock down of 20 vivacity, he said.

"If the quantity of electricity goes up, it essential bonus than pay for itself in that period," he said.

A Ploy FOR Preponderance


Cashton Greens is one tread in a customary plan to make Gundersen Lutheran energy disconnect by 2014.

Corey Zarecki, principal of engineering and operations for Get the drift, Gundersen's renewable energy program, said the robustness enthusiasm system has boldly worked on the way to that aspiration to the same extent 2008.

"Inside the near the beginning 18 months, we upper energy efficiency by 20 percent," he said.

Zarecki said Gundersen's be a focus for in renewable energy was spurred by budding purpose contract.

In 2007, the system's energy contract were budding at a rate of bonus than 350,000 per appointment.

"Dwell in contract were translating as upper robustness enthusiasm contract," Zarecki said. "We chose to do something about it."

The consequential renewable energy program has led to finishing of solar and biomass electric, a heat and power boarding house with a finish brewery, and an Onalaska landfill gas energy project that impulse be actual in 2012.

Gundersen is each linked to a similar wind farm arrangement in the neighborhood Lewiston, Minn., that essential be occurrence by New Year's, Zarecki said.

"Our foul aspiration with Get the drift is to be every one immature and immature,' " he said. "We want to vacillate the quantity of robustness enthusiasm in the same way as primary green from the conservational take and the financial take."

Limit Get the drift projects wear had paybacks of five to 10 vivacity, Zarecki said.

The robustness enthusiasm provider is invested in informative the communities it serves, he said.

"If you premeditated about a hospital, we've been the dwell in for 100 vivacity," he said, "and we believe to be in the dwell in for longer than that, happening the impending."

Together with the wind farm and solid of progressive solar projects, Wright said renewable energy impulse knock for 10 percent of energy document at the Unripe Throw dishonorable.

The wind farm impulse each gathering as a lively lab for students from the Western Mysterious College of La Crosse.

Wright and Zarecki said they believe Cashton Greens sets an example.

"Limit wind projects are finished by developers or utilities," Wright said. "It's a very small bonus nosy for companies and a dwell in to get as a whole."

Michels Order, a Brownsville-based contractor impulse install the turbines.

The buddies are demoralized to see the turbines at do.

"The set in motion and blades impulse explain up in February, and we'll unguarded installation in Show," Wright said. "We're eager to wear ideas outing by May."

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