In the wind

Published: July 1, 2010

The new wind turbine at Madison Area Technical College’s Fort Atkinson campus offers students hands-on wind energy experience through a new curriculum. Photos submitted by Madison Area Technical College

The 155-foot-tall wind turbine at Madison College’s Fort Atkinson campus cost the school $580,000, a price that was offset by $200,000 in grant money from We Energies and Focus on Energy LLC.

By Melissa Rigney Baxter

It will take 20 years for Madison Area Technical College to break even financially on its new wind turbine, but the educational benefits already are paying off.

School officials decided to install a 155-foot-tall, 100-kilowatt wind turbine at the Madison college’s Fort Atkinson campus to save energy and eventually reduce costs. The wind turbine is estimated to cover 35 percent of the campus’ electrical needs, said Fred Brechlin, district architect for Madison College.

At a cost savings of $1,500 a month, it will take more than 20 years to cover the cost of the $580,000 project, he said. Milwaukee-based We Energies chipped in $100,000 and Focus on Energy LLC offered an additional $100,000 to offset some of the costs, he said.

But college officials are reporting immediate benefits from the long-term investment in the creation of a new Wind Energy Technology certificate program, said Lynn Forseth, executive director of economic and work force development.

Offered at Madison College’s Fort Atkinson and Watertown campuses, the classes also serve as electives within the college’s Industrial Maintenance Program. Many of the same skills needed for industrial maintenance will translate into the wind energy field, Forseth said, including maintenance skills, electrical expertise and safety requirements.

“We’re offering the wind energy piece as an add-on to the skill set,” she said.

Students now can get hands-on wind energy experience, thanks to the addition of the turbine, she said. An Introduction to Wind Energy course begins in fall, and a Wind Systems Technician 1 course will begin in spring.

Depending on the success and cost savings realized as a result of the wind turbine, college officials may add more turbines at other campuses, Brechlin said.

Early energy production results have been somewhat disappointing, he said, but the turbine recently was fitted with new blades, which should increase production. This past spring has been a low-wind season compared with previous years, Brechlin said.

For now, the college will wait until the end of the year to make a decision on adding more turbines, he said.

But with the increased educational opportunities, the project’s value goes beyond energy savings, Brechlin said. Adding the turbine let the college make good on its pledge to educate students in a carbon neutral environment, he said.

Madison College’s new wind turbine towers over the Fort Atkinson campus. The school created a new curriculum to maximize use of the on-site educational tool.