Reading Corner House Comments Blowin’ In The Wind and Mercury Rising's Sunday Morning Renewable Energy Blogging about developments in renewable energy today inspired us to look for more about Southern Minnesota's wind industry.
Without much comment or research, we'd posted the Walz statement: Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy to Spur Green Jobs and American Energy Independence about the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act on Friday night, and so missed some good stuff, like this post by Minnesota Central, Vote 51: Minnesota Jobs at stake while Congress chooses whose Tax Break to Extend.
We discovered a video cottage industry about Southern Minnesota's wind industry online, from the informative to the poetic. One thing is clear: the wind energy has matured from pie in the sky dreaming to an economic driver for rural America.
Here's an excerpt from CHC:
Meanwhile, here in SW Minnesota local folks are working hard to prove that renewable and alternative energy is real and viable. Wind turbines are popping up and generating electricity and income due to a cooperative effort among local farmers and community members. Minwind LLC of Luverne, with over 300 members, has 11 turbines and plans to build more. Many of these people were instrumental in building the ethanol plant in Luverne owned by AgriEnergy LLC. The November/December 2007 issue of Rural Cooperatives published by the USDA highlights the Minwind project. New transmission lines are currently being constructed along I-90, creating good paying jobs.
CHC put together a short slide show about the work. The picture of the workers working on the transmission line is scary indeed, but their high wire act is a skilled, good-paying position. Go over and take a look at Blowin’ In The Wind.
One of the companies attracted to the potential of the Midwest's wind was Suzlon, an Indian company that manufactures turbine parts. It located a plant in Pipestone; we found a video podcast that's filmed in Pipestone from the PBS series e2 energy series, Harvesting the Wind, about the process of manufacturing the turbines:
One of the things we're hearing from renewable energy advocates is that Iowa Governor Chet Culver has been more effective lately in luring the manufacturing sector of the renewable energy industry to locate in our southern neighbor. Let's hope that the Pawlenty administration and the legislature can work together to attract new investments to Minnesota.
And the poetry? The Beauty of Windpower video was shot on Buffalo Ridge and the Northfield area to illustrate "wind turbines as kinetic sculpture," according to its producer, Jonathan Larson.
And finally, since Corner House Comments offered a vintage Bob Dylan performance of "Blowing in the Wind," we supply Donovan singing the lovely "Try and Catch the Wind." We'll be catching one of Minnesota's renewable energy champions, State Senator Ellen Anderson, at tonight's Winona County DFL fundraiser, and so dedicate the song to her and everyone working to develop Minnesota's renewable energy industry:
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