University hopes to put up three wind turbines

To fulfill Maharishi University of Management?s commitment to carbon neutrality, university officials are pursuing the construction of three wind turbines.

Tom Brooks, M.U.M.?s chief operating officer, and Mark Stimson, the university?s director of sustainable living, described the university?s plans for a wind project to the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors Monday morning.

?Wind in Jefferson County, as you probably know, is not as good as northwest Iowa, but there are some advantages of using your own electricity and local wind,? Brooks said.

University officials hope to erect three 900 kilowatt, 210 foot tall towers ? not including the length of the blades ? on leased land west of Pleasant Plain Road and north of 185th Street. However, the Federal Aviation Administration has advised the university against constructing anything taller than 202 feet, and M.U.M. may have to adjust its plans, according to Brooks.

The university has been looking into grants through the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Treasury, and Thomas Wind of Wind Utility Consulting is conducting a study on the profitability and viability of the project. Once completed the windmills would be worth roughly $2.5 million.

?We don?t know exactly how it might impact you. We?re here early on in the project to get your advice and concerns,? Brooks told the board.

Supervisor Dick Reed posed the questions, ?What happens if the lease dissolves, and it becomes not used? Who?s responsible for taking it down? ? Who?s responsible for paying the taxes on it??

Brooks said M.U.M. will actually lease the turbines from a limited liability corporation and suggested the answers to those questions could be detailed in the lease agreement.

Supervisor Steve Burgmeier noted abandoned wind farm construction sites have become a serious issue in other counties.

Reed asked what the university is doing to be a good neighbor, and Brooks said university representatives would be willing to meet with neighbors and explain the plans.

As Monday?s discussion came to an end, Brooks said he would keep the supervisors posted on the project?s progress.

The turbines are one of three ways M.U.M. is looking to offset its carbon footprint in compliance with the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment signed by M.U.M. President Bevan Morris, along with 600 other college presidents nationwide.

For the complete article, see the Tuesday, July 21, 2009, printed edition of The Fairfield Ledger.