Le Sueur Putting Wind Energy to the Test

By Brian Ojanpa
Mankato Free Press
November 11, 2009

LE SUEUR —
The city of Le Sueur is tilting at windmills, but unlike what that idiom stands for, it’s not intended to represent an unwinnable battle.

While the 120-foot wind turbine in the city’s industrial park will produce only a token amount of electricity, its presence symbolizes the quest for alternative power-generating modes of the future.

“We just wanted to make a statement that we’re behind this,” city electric utility director Greg Drent said of a cooperative venture to erect turbines in 11 Minnesota cities.

Le Sueur and other member cities of the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency are participating in what could be described as a show-and-tell public relations initiative on renewable energy.

The power cooperative purchased the refurbished windmills from Palm Springs, Calif., for $300,000 each. All are expected to be producing power by year’s end.

Drent said Le Sueur’s should be operational by Thanksgiving, and though it will only produce enough to power about 18 homes, it also will serve as a testing ground to gauge its practicality and cost-effectiveness.

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