WERC was successful in helping
the Hunt Utilities Group, LLC (HUG) obtain a $20,000 grant from
Minnesota Power to put up a small wind turbine on the HUG campus
by Pine River, Minnesota. The wind turbine is a 20 kilowatt Jacobs
system with a 31 foot rotor on a 120 foot tower, which will produce
enough electricity to power a small farm (ranges from 12,000 to
50,000 kilowatt hours per year). The total installed cost for
this system is $55,000. This renewable energy system will pay
for itself in less than ten years and produce electricity for
HUG for many decades, as proven by the Jacobs Wind Turbine Systems
since 1930.
Hunt Utilities Group, LLC (HUG) is a for profit organization started
by eco-minded philanthropic entrepreneurs for the purpose of exploring
and developing systems that support ecological living. Our current
and planned projects include: Hug Net Straw bale construction,
a research campus, buildings that heat themselves (even in Minnesota),
sewage reprocessing and reuse, alternative energy, and related
business incubation. HUG kicked off public education programs
on Wind Power via the new wind turbine during the 2006 Cass County
Fair which took place just across the road from HUG. This will
be the first time the Hunt Utility Group will have a permanent
wind turbine on their grounds. The turbine will feature educational
signage on its base explaining the basics of the technology, the
costs of getting electricity from the wind, the financial benefits
for the homeowner or farmer and the pollution reduction benefits
for all.
The purpose of the HUG research campus is to help develop and
teach ways that we can live more comfortably with the Earth. See www.hugllc.com
for more.
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