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Turbine Information
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By the Numbers
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SIZE |
WEIGHT |
| Base diameter |
15 feet |
Each blade |
22,000 lbs. |
| Tower height |
256 feet |
Enter rotor
(blade and nose cone) |
77,175 lbs. |
| Blade length |
134 feet |
Nacell (box at top of
tower) |
138,915 lbs. |
| Total height as
standing |
391 feet |
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| Below ground |
32 feet |
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| Distance apart |
800 feet |
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BLADE SPEED |
WIND SPEED |
| Blade speed |
16.0
rotations/minute |
Begins energy
production |
9 mph |
| Speed at tip of blade |
178 mph |
Peak energy
production |
32 mph |
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Blades slowed |
55 mph |
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Design tolerance |
150 mph |
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The Bright Idea
- The Bowling Green Wind Farm Project began as a joint venture
between the City of Bowling Green Public Utilities, American
Municipal Power - Ohio, and Green Mountain Energy Corporation.
After a year of wind speed testing, two 1.8 megawatt size units
were purchased from Vestas American Wind Technology, the largest
manufacturer of megawatt size wind turbines in the world.
- After considering several sites, land west on US Route 6 was
selected. The property is owned by Wood County and sits next to
the Wood County Landfill - prompting more than one person to
comment that with all the visitors, the landfill is now a tourist
attraction! The Wind Farm Project rents the land for the turbines
from the county.
- The blades and nacelle (the big box on top of the tower) of
each turbine were produced in Denmark, while the tower was
produced in the United States. In order to assemble it, a crane
had to be brought in that was capable of lifting the 138,915 pound
nacelle to a height of 256 feet! In addition to constructing the
turbines themselves, three phase energy lines had to be run from
the Public Utilities sub-station on Poe Road. These allow the
electricity produced by the turbines to flow back into the city
grid.
- At a cost of $4.8 million, these first two units were
dedicated on November 7, 2003 and the project officially became
the only utility-size wind farm in the State of Ohio. It was
estimated that they would produce 6,981 megawatt hours per year
but during the first year they performed well above that, actually
producing 7,245 megawatt hours! During the first year, eight other
municipalities joined the project: Cuyahoga Falls, Edgerton,
Monroeville, Napoleon, Oberlin, Pioneer, Montpelier, and
Wadsworth.
- Turbines three and four were dedicated just over a year later
on November 19, 2004. At an additional cost of $4 million, they
brought the total project cost to $8.8 million. Currently, due to
low interest rates, the project will begin to see a return on it's
investment in just 13 years.
- The Bowling Green Wind Farm Project has ignited interest in
wind power across the State of Ohio. The majestic white towers and
lazily spinning turbines may someday be a common site in Ohio; one
that all began in Bowling Green!
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