Dane County will get 6 commercial wind turbines

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Dane County is getting its first commercial wind turbines.

Epic Systems is building six turbines – each with three 135-foot blades spinning atop a 262-foot tower at its Verona campus.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports a geothermal system already heats and cools the campus and solar panels generate electricity.

Bruce Richards, the company’s director of facilities and engineering, says the addition of the turbines will mean the company can provide about 85 percent of its own energy needs by 2014.

Richards wouldn’t discuss the project’s cost, but said the company expected electrical savings to pay for construction within seven years.

The turbines are expected to be visible from the tall buildings in downtown Madison, including the Capitol.

Epic Systems is a medical software manufacturer.

Information from: Wisconsin State Journal, http://www.madison.com/wsj