Community-Based Wind Farms Put Power in People’s Hands

Written by Jaymi Heimbuch

Wednesday, 04 June 2008

National Wind is providing much needed support to communities that want wind power. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the company develops and manages utility scale (50 MW or more) community wind energy projects. It creates local limited liability companies, shareing ownership with the community members and allowing greater ability to generate and maintain wind farms. This is a huge boon for wind development on smaller scales. Rather than massive wind farms that generate huge amounts of power, this company helps communities create their own farms, generate their own power, and not have to rely on big business to do it.

National Wind’s mission is to work with landowners like farmers and ranchers to build wind farms, and work as co-owners with community members. They provide the tools, knowledge, and experience needed to get wind power up and running, including addressing big issues like evaluating and designing the layout, and working with utility companies and government agencies. They’re currently active in Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa, Colorado, Montana and Nebraska.

The organization bolsters the outlook of wind power because it puts power generation at the community level, rather than at a corporate level. Working directly with communities is a great way to get people excited about alternative power sources.

They currently have 15 wind energy developments under their belt, and we’ll keep a watch on this company to see how the projects pan out.

Comments (4)

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written by Brittany Glaser , June 04, 2008

Hi,

I thought that this would be of interest to you. Plus it is a HUGE trend right now!

Companies you hear and pass by everyday are doing things to improve our world and benefit their consumers. Enterprise Rent-A-Car recently added hybrids to its fleet of vehicles. Nike has launched a policy to source raw materials as local as possible. The supermarket chain Wegman's started an organic farm. Italian power company Eni raised its thermostats by one degree Celsius, and the amount of energy saved was incredible not to mention they all saved money.

Now these are small changes these large companies are making that made a significant improvement. You don’t have to be a top company to make a difference. By making one change in your home can make a huge impact.

Here is something you probably never even thought of right in your kitchen!

Each day when you cook you probably use a non-stick pan…correct? Well, your non-stick pan is releasing toxic gases and hazardous material into your food. Recently, a new technology called GreenPan came out. GreenPan is the first cookware product to utilize Thermolon non-stick coating which is PTFE/PFOA-free, and will perform at high temperatures without deterioration or releasing harmful fumes. Don’t be fooled by its competitors. It is the only pan with this true technology on the market today.

Plus...
-it doesn’t flake
-is dishwasher safe
-and heats evenly, so there are no more hot spots!

GreenPan Six-Piece Cookware, $99.90 (sold as individual pieces as well) HSN.com

Without the use of PTFA/PFOA this new technology

can withstand temp above 800ºF
does not release toxic chemicals that are harmful to the environment and our bodies
products use 50% less energy to be coated and are therefore considered “green” in manufacturing

For more information please feel free to contact me at anytime.

All Best,

Brittany

Brittany Glaser

Coburn Communication

130 West 42nd Street

Suite 750

New York, NY 10036

212.730.7277 main

This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Brilliant Idea
written by Brian , June 04, 2008

I like the idea of communities coming together in order to solve their own power needs through the use of green power. Knowing that your energy is being produced locally makes you think about it more, and also makes you think about conserving it more.

I hope to see a lot more communities doing this as green power becomes more efficient and more affordable.

@Brttany
written by Kate , June 04, 2008

My mom bought a set of GreenPan cookware. In the end she had to take it back to the shop for a refund.

At first, the handles on two saucepans became very loose and could not be tightened. The non stick surface quickly got scratched and the worst thing was the strange taste that was produced when frying in the frypan.

Mom now reckons the best non stick cookware is stainless steel or cast iron with olive oil.

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written by Brandon , June 05, 2008

This is great to read about. It is projects like this that are going to drive the transition to renewable sources by making things more economical. I have heard/read about similar projects with the installation of solar panels.

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