Work underway on Luther wind turbine

The concrete foundation has been poured for Luther College's new 1.6-megawatt wind turbine.

The wind turbine, manufactured by General Electric, is projected to produce 5.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, approximately one third of the college's annual consumption.

"The production will reduce Luther's emissions by approximately 14 percent, which will move us closer to our goal of reducing campus greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent," said Luther President Richard Torgerson.            

General contractor for the project is Diversified Energy Solutions from Gary, South Dakota.  The foundation work was done by subcontractor Concrete, Inc., the concrete was supplied by Croell Redi-Mix.  Protivin Builders provided the truck to place the concrete.

The turbine is being constructed on a tract of land owned by Janelle Pavlovec northwest of Decorah's city limits and north of the rock quarry near the intersection of U.S. Highway 52 and Madison Road.

The site was selected because it has a good wind resource to power the turbine and is close to an electrical distribution line operated by Alliant Energy.  In addition, the turbine will be in view of the campus, helping make students and the community more aware of the potential of wind energy and renewable energy.

The road to the turbine site was constructed last November by Wiltgen Construction. Luther recently signed a turbine supply agreement with General Electric.  

Major components of the wind turbine are scheduled to arrive in late September with erection to follow shortly thereafter.  The blades will be manufactured in Iowa.  The nacelle and hub will be manufactured in Florida.  The tower was manufactured in Canada.

To protect the beauty of the natural environment, the transmission line for the project will be installed underground, carrying the wind-generated electricity under Highway 52, along Valley View Drive, under the Upper Iowa River near the Luther radio tower, and then east to the Alliant Energy distribution line that serves the Luther campus.

The line will be installed in August and September by Voltmer Electric, Inc. and West Union Trenching

The turbine is being constructed under the auspices of Luther College Wind Energy Project, LLC.  Formed in 2005, LCWEP is a limited liability corporation that is eligible for Iowa's 476C renewable energy production tax credit.  

The USDA has awarded the project a Rural Energy for America grant as well as a guaranteed loan.  Additional financing is provided by Decorah Bank & Trust and the Iowa Energy Center's Alternative Energy Revolving Loan Program.

LCWEP is projected to pay more than $185,000 in property taxes to Winneshiek County over the next 10 years.