First US town powered completely by wind
- added July 23, 2008
- 22 responses
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- goldenways
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Rock Port, Mo., has an unusual crop: wind turbines.
The four turbines that supply electricity to the small town of 1,300 residents make it the first community in the United States to operate solely on wind power.
"That's something to be very proud of, especially in a rural area like this — that we're doing our part for the environment," said Jim Crawford, a natural resource engineer at the University of Missouri Extension in Columbia.
A map published by the U.S. Department of Energy indicates that northwest Missouri has the state's highest concentrations of wind resources and contains a number of locations that are potentially suitable for utility-scale wind development. The four turbines that power Rock Port are part of a larger set of 75 turbines across three counties that are used to harvest the power of wind.
"We're farming the wind, which is something that we have up here," Crawford said. "The payback on a per-acre basis is generally quite good when compared to a lot of other crops, and it's as simple as getting a cup of coffee and watching the blades spin."
And the turbines have another benefit besides produces clean energy: MU Extension specialists said that the Missouri wind farms will bring in more than $1.1 million annually in county real estate taxes, to be paid by Wind Capital Group, a wind energy developer based in St. Louis.
"This is a unique situation because in rural areas it is quite uncommon to have this increase in taxation revenues," said Jerry Baker, and MU Extension community development specialist.
Landowners can also benefit by leasing part of their property for wind turbines.
The turbines will also provide savings to rural electric companies and will provide electric service for at least 20 years, the anticipated lifetime of the turbines.
"Anybody who is currently using Rock Port utilities can expect no increase in rates for the next 15 to 20 years," Crawford said.
Baker added that the turbines could also attract tourists to the area.
The four turbines that supply electricity to the small town of 1,300 residents make it the first community in the United States to operate solely on wind power.
"That's something to be very proud of, especially in a rural area like this — that we're doing our part for the environment," said Jim Crawford, a natural resource engineer at the University of Missouri Extension in Columbia.
A map published by the U.S. Department of Energy indicates that northwest Missouri has the state's highest concentrations of wind resources and contains a number of locations that are potentially suitable for utility-scale wind development. The four turbines that power Rock Port are part of a larger set of 75 turbines across three counties that are used to harvest the power of wind.
"We're farming the wind, which is something that we have up here," Crawford said. "The payback on a per-acre basis is generally quite good when compared to a lot of other crops, and it's as simple as getting a cup of coffee and watching the blades spin."
And the turbines have another benefit besides produces clean energy: MU Extension specialists said that the Missouri wind farms will bring in more than $1.1 million annually in county real estate taxes, to be paid by Wind Capital Group, a wind energy developer based in St. Louis.
"This is a unique situation because in rural areas it is quite uncommon to have this increase in taxation revenues," said Jerry Baker, and MU Extension community development specialist.
Landowners can also benefit by leasing part of their property for wind turbines.
The turbines will also provide savings to rural electric companies and will provide electric service for at least 20 years, the anticipated lifetime of the turbines.
"Anybody who is currently using Rock Port utilities can expect no increase in rates for the next 15 to 20 years," Crawford said.
Baker added that the turbines could also attract tourists to the area.
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- goldenways
- 2 months ago
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That's what we need in a big city
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Lets see 4 turbines= 1300 people times 300 average electric bill =39.000 per month=468.000 thousand per year times 20years=9million 360 thousand - 0 pollution a rebate from the electric company for extra power
what are we waiting for.It would be much better if the village built the wind mills the bills be almost eliminated.
Plus the wind mills are beautiful to see on a misty morning its a sight to see. -
very cool!
much more exciting than the oil man who wants to do large scale because that can turn into too much power in one hand also...better everyone have their own or the towns have their own..too much efficiency and you have Walmart and factory farms. -
This needs to happen everywhere!
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- fauxsherrrr
- 2 months ago
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That is so awesome!!! I might move there if I didn't love Pasadena so much.
Let's DEMAND this everywhere!!!! -
If the rest of the nation will get in line we will solve so many problems. I wonder how many people are packing their bags and heading for Rock Port MO. Way lead the pack guys.
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- bluestranger
- 2 months ago
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This is a great step in the right direction. I hope other towns and cities will follow suit. I wish I could get the place I live to do this and get off the polluting coal power and going to the wind which is free and pollution free.
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i wanna live there.. I think the whole world need to convert to this kind of living
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great... and yes (ala Hassan and everyone else apparently hehe), why is this such an isolated "incident"? It's our bright and most imaginative "leaders" doing their "best" for us...at our expense. Gotta hate 'em.
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Why now and not in 1969? Since then, we now have disposable razors, the SUV, absolutely no mandated insulation standards for new residential or commercial construction (only recommendations), crappy windows with low E values still prevalent for purchase, furniture still not covered only with leather...sorry, but it is renewable...the plastic bag and bottle, improper management of the oceans, agricultural pesticide and herbicide usage analysis, stupid periodicals on the news stands of everywhere, newspapers and ink--do we really need so many of them?....Recycling centers?...Small gardens for home usage?...Vermiculture? (Worm composting instead of passing the crap down to the sewage treatment plant)...Treesulation? (Planting trees to shade air conditioned structures...I just made that one up)...Minimum mpg cars?.......Let's all get busy--this is beyond politics now--both parties have had control and have demonstrated the "wake up" trail is hard and laden with excuses....Anyone remember when Lake Erie caught fire around 1960?...I was a kid...That's when I felt this "movement" really started..........I remember when.........it was awful, it is getting better, we have a long way to go....
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I used to live near Rockport, MO and went there many times. It is on a high point in the Missouri River Valley and the windmills are atop a limestone bluff overlooking the river.
It's all farmers, truck drivers, gravel quarry workers river bargemen, and railroad workers, (and almost as many women as men in those jobs.)
There is a lot of excellent hunting and fishing around there. Almost everyone owns horses and hunting dogs. My friends and I took our Weimaraners and German Shorthairs to Rock Port many times for field trials. Everyone has a hunting or fishing story to tell you, or several, be prepared to lean back in your chair and spend some time. You'll have to learn how to whittle wood without cutting your thumb. You have to learn proper etiquette and polite social behavior. NEVER insult a man's dog or shotgun, ESPECIALLY if he has the shotgun in his hands.
The BBQ is great. The big entertainment is friday night high school football. And your arm will get tired from waving back at everyone who waves and speaks to you.
Rock Port is about as close as you'll come to Mayberry in real life. Nobody in Rock Port smokes marijuana. People in Rock Port take conservation of the the environment pretty damned seriously. Damaging the land, wildlife habitat, or fishing waters is considered even worse than insulting someone's dog. -
Howard, South Dakota also has a community owned utility powered by wind turbines. I don't know if they get 100% of electricity from wind, but it's very close to it. Bravo.
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I made a typo...I believe Lake Erie caught fire around 1969...Not that it particularly matters what year it was, the fact was--it actually caught fire!
Incidentally, how is that hog farming going in North Carolina? Did "they" build a sewage treatment plant to simply take care of our BBQ Rib industry yet? Damn, I like ribs, and I feel for the North Carolinians who have to produce them...-
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- WisconsinNorm
- 2 months ago
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That is interesting..I haven't seen this story anywhere else.
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"Rock Port, Mo., has an unusual crop: wind turbines." Smart thing to do, and they did it! This should be front page news. But, I guess if you are betting on a killing in oil futures, this isn't great news to you.
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Inapickle, I hope you didn't buy any oil futures...Just the threat of increased drilling in the good ol' USA is causing oil to drop...Just keep conserving and don't worry about the few...Gas was $3.75 here today...down, down, down...I'm using less, less, less...buy a Harley! Or a scooter...By the way, what commodity do you buy today for consumption six months from now?
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- WisconsinNorm
- 2 months ago
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Why isn't every town/city run by wind!?
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one down thousands to go.....!!!!! towns that is.
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just be careful of signing contracts if you are a buyer/seller, my brother almost lost $5000 reserving a house, the contract he signed had a clause that if he didn't show proof of insurance and a cashiers check with the down payment by a specific date and time the "reserving money" wouldn't be re funded, nice job of the Realtor for keeping it to the last minute. As long as you can use a lawyer you can trust and deal with the owner's lawyer you'll save even more than with geico :D.
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