Greetings from the WERC Team!

Where ever the wind blows, people are taking interest. Here are some news stories from WERC to keep you informed of the winds of change in the small wind business and renewable energy industry:

1.  Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is betting that a down payment in the renewable energy field will pay off and will ask the Legislature to approve tax credits and other incentives for companies that bring green jobs to Minnesota. See details.

2.  If one is good then for Harmon Wilts, two is better. Two wind turbines that is. Rural Kerkhoven resident Harmon Wilts talks about renewable energy and why he has invested in two Jacobs wind turbines See details.

3.  AWEA put together a guidebook called "In the Public Interest: How and Why to Permit for Small Wind Systems", designed to help state and local governments create or improve local permitting rules that govern the installation of small wind turbines. See details.

4. A third, Buckminster Fuller style metal frame geodesic dome was built at the Eco-Domes Conservation Campus. It will provide a long-lasting modular roof over a four season greenhouse. The greenhouse will be used for experiments in growing healthy, highly saleable vegetation using many forms of water and soils under controlled atmospheric conditions for research data See details

5.  The Eco-Domes has a new professional weather station by Davis Technologies which features state-of-the-art technology that used for weather databases and forecasting worldwide. See details

6. Small non-utility wind producers are looking to the Iowa Legislature to help develop perks such as a guaranteed rate of return to help recover the costs of buying and installing the turbines and then connecting to the transmission grid. The issue centers on the surplus electricity that a wind turbine generates.
Surplus electricity from a turbine can't be stored, and most turbine owners want to recoup some or all of their costs by reselling the surplus back into the transmission grid. That right came with federal rules that define the transmission system as a common carrier similar to a highway or telephone line. See details

7.  Jacobsens near Park Rapids wanted to offset the power they use from the power grid by installing a wind turbine. The estimated power production of the wind turbine is 19,000kwh per year. That equals burning eight tons of coal, so that will be eight tons less of coal and emissions.  See details

8.  Wind WERC-Shop at the Eco-Domes on the second Thursday of each month.  From 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm, the workshop will cover the best financial strategies for owning a wind turbine, ways to increase your chances for USDA grants and new benefits for wind systems owners. See details

New Sustainable Living Showcase in central MN to be open by Earth Day, 2009!

Thank you for your interest in the renewable energy industry!

Winkelman's Environmentally Responsible Construction (WERC)

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3000 watt Whisper and 20 Kilowatt Jacobs Wind Turbines.

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