Nov 19 2010
The Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) has signed a contract with a Broad wind Energy company, Energy Maintenance Service (EMS), for the remanufacture and assembling of a wind turbine on the DMACC Ankeny Campus, with construction plans commencing this week.
According to Rob Denson, CEO and President of DMACC, this wind turbine project would demonstrate their dedication to the environment and also give training for the workers in green jobs. He further stated that as wind energy was one of the most significant alternative fuels it was essential to utilize this growing industry for the economic benefit of the community. The wind turbine would also be a part of the research and education in Iowa Energy Center’s efforts, and DMACC’s new program titled ‘Wind Energy and Turbine Technician Program,’ for the study of medium scale wind turbines. Another benefit would be the generation of electricity for the campus around 5% during peak hours and 1/3 rd of the total energy consumption during off peak hours.
Denson stated that the project came into being after the approval of a $131,000 grant to the college from the Iowa Office of Energy Independence. This grant is a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and would finance half of the total project costs. The other half would be provided by DMACC. This turbine was developed in the 1980’s, and has been generating electricity on a wind farm, located outside Tehachapi in California. It was then disassembled and sent to Howard’s EMS facility in South Dakota.
The President of EMS, Paul Seppanen, remarked that this recycling of a wind turbine would be the ultimate green project. After the turbine is fitted with new controls and components along with the restored blades, altered gearbox, new coat of paint and other improvements it would be on par with the other current wind turbines. EMS is a specialist in remanufacturing Kilowatt class wind turbines. Seppanen also added that the remanufacture would bring in a lot of cost savings too. This initiative is one of DMACC’s many contributions to the creation of a greener environment.
Source: http://www.dmacc.edu/