Community Corner

Lake Metroparks Installing New Wind Turbine At Farmpark

In addition to demonstrating new technology, the turbine and solar panels show the connection between solar energy and the food we eat

A new 10-kilowatt wind turbine was hoisted atop a 100-foot pole Monday morning at Lake Metroparks Farmpark.

As with most things at the Farmpark, the turbine isn't just functional. It will also be used to teach visitors about renewable resources, Farmpark Administrator Andrew Baker said.

The new turbine will start creating energy when winds blow as slowly as 5 mph and can handle winds as fast as 134 mph. It can also be raised and lowered for repairs without the use of a crane.

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The Farmpark first added a turbine, along with an array of solar panels, about 10 years ago. At the time, it was one of the biggest renewable energy producers in Ohio, Baker said.

However, the older turbine became outdated because it "could not adapt as well to local wind patterns," Baker said. Additionally, it was damaged a few years back during a wind storm.

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The new turbine is part of a project designed to develop a more efficient small wind turbine that adjusts to the conditions found in Northeast Ohio.

The turbine was installed by the Renaissance Group, a Kirtland-based group of professionals that focus on conservation technology and renewable energy.

They will test various parts of the turbine system with the goal of finding the technology that makes the most of the area's wind patterns.

Ultimately, the tests will allow the Renaissance Group to make more effective small wind turbines.

The Farmpark's solar panels and turbine create between 40,000 and 45,000 kilowatt-hours per year, which is about enough to power four houses, Baker said.

Additionally, the panels and turbine reinforce one of the key lessons of the Farmpark, where our food comes from.

"One of the reasons we do the renewable energy here is to help people make the connection between solar energy and the energy we consume," Baker said. "What farmers do is capture solar energy for our consumption, storing it in plants and animals."

Baker added that even wind is just solar energy by a different name because it is created by the sun's heating of the earth's surface.


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