Rock Port, Mo., first in country to run 100% on wind power

[jpak]

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/04/14/daily11.html

On Friday, Rock Port, Mo., will become the first city in the country capable of meeting 100 percent of its electricity demand from wind power, according to Wind Capital Group, the developer of the wind power facility in Rock Port.

St. Louis-based Wind Capital Group's Loess Hills wind power facility, located in Rock Port, produces up to 16 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, which exceeds the 13 million kilowatt hours Rock Port uses each year.

"By generating enough clean, renewable electricity to meet all of Rock Port's energy needs while also generating additional revenue for their tax base, the Loess Hills facility is a shining example of the benefits of wind energy development," Tom Carnahan, president of Wind Capital Group, said in a statement.

Electricity generated from Loess Hills not used by homes and businesses in Rock Port will be purchased by the Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission (MJMEUC) for use in other communities across Missouri. As part of this arrangement, MJMEUC will supply Rock Port's power needs when the wind turbines are not generating at capacity.

<more>

[navarth]

1. wow. that is something. how do they handle the bird problem?

I've heard that a lot of birds get killed by these windmills. I think I also heard about some creative ways of protecting the birds, but I never heard more about it.

It will be interesting to see what happens with wind power.

[kristopher]

2. Birds are dealt with by proper site selection.

Tubular towers eliminated raptors nesting there, and keeping the farm out of flyways takes care of the rest.

There is great avian study of offshore wind by Desholm (you may have trouble accessing the actual paper if you can't go through a university) with a map generated by radar tracking of birds as they encounter a wind farm. The birds show they can deal with the issue - at least the type in that study (puffins?).

[kentauros]

4. The "bird problem" is also mostly myth, perpetuated by those against windpower

or those without the right links ;)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x120521

[TlalocW]

3. That is good news but...

What are they doing with that extra 3 million kilowatt hours worth of electricity? They're probably storing it somewhere and over the years will continue to add to their electric stockpile before sending out shock troops with electric zap guns to take over the rest of the midwest.

I'm just saying that you can't trust Missourians.

TlalocW

[phantom power]

5. I have a feeling that "up to" means "assuming a year of nameplate capacity"

In which case they are most likely to get about 5 million kilowatt hours each year. (Which isn't bad by any means.)