NORTHWOOD, Iowa – The turbines are turning, and the Top of Iowa Wind Farm is producing its first watts of clean power.

Thursday, October 18, 2001

NORTHWOOD, Iowa – The turbines are turning, and the Top of Iowa Wind Farm is producing its first watts of clean power.

According to Jen Guarino, operations manager for Northern Iowa Windpower, fifty turbines went online last week, selling power to Alliant Energy. Meanwhile, the last turbines were installed on the last handful of towers.

&uot;We plan to gradually bring more generators on line – about 10 each week – until they’re all operational. We’re aiming for the first week of November,&uot; she said. The construction of the towers and installation of the turbines, which began in April, is more than two weeks ahead of initial projections, Guarino said.

&uot;It has been a great team effort between the various contractors,&uot; she said

The farm will produce about 220 gigawatts of power each year – enough to power about 40,000 homes. It has 89 turbines spread across 6,500 acres of farmland in Worth County. Landowners will receive yearly payments in exchange for having the towers on their property. Others are paid for having transmission lines crossing their land, Guarino said.

The farm is similar in appearance to the Cerro Gordo Wind Farm near Clear Lake, Iowa. The towers are visible from I-35, and are becoming something of a tourist attraction.

&uot;We’ve had a lot of curious people stop by to see the towers up close. Now that most of them are operational, even more people are interested,&uot; Guarino said.

Clarice Hagen and her husband Harold have seven turbine towers on their property. She can see them out her kitchen window. The 235-foot towers are visible at night, as well, she said. Each is topped with a red light.

&uot;It’s quite a sight, day or night,&uot; Hagen said. &uot;We’re still getting used to them, but we think they look terrific.&uot;

Hagen said the wind must blow at least 7 miles per hour to start the turbines turning. A maintenance crew will check on the towers regularly, and she and her husband don’t have to worry about their operation.

&uot;It’s really no trouble to us at all,&uot; she said. &uot;I’m very glad to have them on our land. I hope things work out well and we can have more of these wind farms in North Iowa.&uot;

Northern Wind Power is planning another similarly-sized wind farm just east of I-35 a few miles from the Top of Iowa facility. Construction of that facility could begin next spring.