Iowa Turns Greener with Wind Power

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The City of Wall Lake, Iowa is preparing to start construction in August on their first wind turbine/generator to provide "Green Power" to their customers. The wind turbine/generator is scheduled to start providing 660 kilowatts (kW) of power to Wall Lake by mid-September 2003. Additional units may be installed in the future if the market warrants it.

The initial unit whose construction is slated for kick-off in August is a Vestas V47-660kW; this model has been in service commercially since 1997. The unit will be tied into the city's grid. This unit will operate with wind speeds of approximately 8-55 miles per hour.

Vestas Wind System (Berlin: VEWI.BE, Copenhagen: VWS.CO, Dusseldorf: VEWI.D, Frankfort: VEWI.F, Munich: VEWI.MU, Stuttgart: VEWI.SG & PNK: VWSYF.PK) a subsidiary of Vestas Group that was started in 1945 by Peter Hansen in Lem, Denmark and built household appliances. The original name was Vestjysk, S Talteknik A/S that was shortened to Vestas.

The company first attempt at wind turbine/generators was the "Darrieus Turbine" that was like a giant egg whisk. Vestas started delivery of the three-blade propeller type in 1979 to customers who wished to invest in alternative energy. Vestas Group & associates employs over 6,000 personnel and has installed over 37,000-megawatts (MW) with over 1,600MW in 2002 alone.