Wind Turbines

[dropcap color=”#f96e5b”]W[/dropcap]e sit atop of a high plateau just east side of Vermont’s Green Mountains. This gives the wind time and distance to build its strength and intensity before it reaches our farm. In winter it blows so hard it can be difficult to stand up and see where you are going on a short walk from one building to another.

After twenty-five years of weathering strong winds, we decided to put up a windmill. In 2003, we applied for and received a grant from the Vermont Department of Public Service to cover half the cost of a reconditioned wind turbine that had once stood on Tehachapi Pass above the Mojave Desert in southern California. The turbine was a Vestas V-15 35kw model made in Denmark in the 1980’s.

Having always been pioneers in farming, this project was no exception. The windmill was delivered in the midst of a howling October snow storm. We assembled the 75 foot steel lattice tower on its side on the ground. Erection day came in mid November after two feet of snow and then a big rain storm. The 85 ton crane hired for the job had to be pulled across the muddy field by a neighbor’s D-7 bulldozer. There were several mishaps during the day, but in the end we managed to get the whole thing in the air.

This project was completed in late September of 2004, almost a year after the wind turbine was first delivered. For every kilowatt hour we generate, one is subtracted from our monthly electric bill. In the winter months, we generate between three and four thousand kilowatt hours per month. As the wind rattles the windows and shakes the walls, we’re pleased to be able to harness a tiny slice of its power.

[highlight color=”#f96e5b”]You have several aspects of Energy going on at the farm: turbine, that huge steam boiler, the solar barn, the water recycler, and ???[/highlight]

Might use this page as an all-inclusive energy page? 

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• If enough copy, story, or images for each, could each be their own page
• Or they could be written by Jack and over in Jack’s Blog
• The wind turbine story alone could be continued as a story beyond its 2004 completion
• Or continue on down the page like seen below with a few paragraphs about each endeavor

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Other energy

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Other energy

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Other energy

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