WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and SportsFitchburg park gets an urban wind turbine

Fitchburg park gets an urban wind turbine

FITCHBURG (WKOW) -- Traditional wind farms have sprouted up on Midwestern farms in recent years, including in Fond du Lac and Iowa counties.  They're noticeable in the distance by white turbines that spin like a propellor, hundreds of feet in the air.

By contrast, a 44-foot contraption set up in Fitchburg's McKee Farm Park October 24 looks like like those turbines.  Yet, it generates renewable wind power as well.

"It is called a vertical axis wind turbine," said Madison Gas and Electric business development manager John Drury.  "It's an urban turbine.  It's a technology for wind energy that's been designed for urban settings."

It looks more like a cross between an egg beater and a strand of DNA double helix.  Drury said it started spinning and making power about ten days ago.

"Right now, based on the specifications, it could provide power for two to three homes on an annual basis," he said.  Of course, like with traditional wind turbines, power is only generated when the wind actually blows.

Drury said it's the first urban turbine in Wisconsin.  "In Europe they've been around for a while, but in the U.S., there's just a few of these started to get installed."

Just from an Internet search, the ones that are up and twirling in other cities around the globe are, well, whimsical.  That's the point.  The unique propellors capture the wind better in a tighter space where room can be at a premium.

Despite the closeness to people, one thing you notice about the one in Fitchburg is how quiet it is.

"And that was one of the questions from neighbors, will it be quiet," said Drury, describing the planning process that first began last spring.

He said it's in "an area that's very public, so people can come up near the technology, take a look at it, and people can see first hand what the techology is about."

For now, the power from the turbine off the park parking lot goes straight into the electric grid.

People like Drury will monitor it for the next decade to see if one of these could realistically wind its way into the average American backyard sometime in the future.

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