Twin Groves Wind Farm

Twin Groves Wind Farm

Twin Groves Wind Farm from McLean County Route 21
Location of Twin Groves Wind Farm in Illinois
Country United States
Location McLean County, Illinois, Illinois
Coordinates 40°28′54″N 88°42′26″W / 40.48167°N 88.70722°W / 40.48167; -88.70722Coordinates: 40°28′54″N 88°42′26″W / 40.48167°N 88.70722°W / 40.48167; -88.70722
Construction cost $700 million
Owner(s) Horizon Wind Energy
Operator(s) Horizon Wind Energy
Wind farm
Site area 22,000 acres (8,903.1 ha)
Hub height 280 ft
Power generation
Units operational 240 Vestas 1.65 MW
Nameplate capacity 398 MW
Average generation 1.3 TWh
Twin Groves Wind Farm from McLean County Route 21

Twin Groves Wind Farm is a wind farm in the U.S. state of Illinois, near the villages of Arrowsmith, Saybrook, and Ellsworth in McLean County. It consists of 240 operating wind turbines.[1] Each wind turbine stands 280 ft (80 m) tall and has three 120-foot-long (39 m) blades. The wind farm was constructed from 2007 to February 2008. Twin Groves was the largest utility-scale wind farm east of the Mississippi River upon completion.[2][3]

Description

The Twin Groves Wind Farm lies in eastern McLean County just east of Bloomington on Illinois State Route 9. The wind farm consists of 240 Vestas 1.65 MW wind turbines and is owned and operated by Horizon Wind Energy.[1] Total cost of Twin Groves was approximately $700 million.[4] The towers are spread out over 22,000 acres (8,900 ha) of McLean County,[1] near the villages of Arrowsmith, Ellsworth, and Saybrook. The current total capacity at Twin Groves Wind Farm is 398 megawatts.[1] The site produces enough power to power about 120,000 homes, or approximately 1.3 billion kilowatt hours annually.[5][6]

Revenue

Between 150–200 acres (60.7–80.9 ha), or 1%, of the total 22,000 acres will be taken up by the turbines.[5][7] Royalties are paid to owners of the land at $5,000 per wind turbine.[2][7] The wind farm pays property taxes, of which Ridgeview School District will start collecting $300,000 a year,[7] while Tri-Valley School District will collect between $200,000-$250,000 a year.[7]

Future

With 240 wind turbines already generating power, Horizon Wind Energy is considering an additional 170 wind turbines, to bring the total number of turbines to 410.[7][8] Test wind turbines are being placed in eastern McLean County to determine if additional wind turbines can be supported.[7] If constructed, power capacity estimates for the wind farm increase from 398 megawatts to 680 megawatts.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Welcome to Horizon Wind Energy". Horizonwind.com. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  2. 1 2 "Indian Creek Newsletter". Frontiernet.net. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  3. ↑ Later in 2008, the Fowler Ridge Wind Farm in neighboring Indiana surpassed Twin Groves with 400 MW of installed nameplate capacity.
  4. ↑ "Wind energy comes to McLean - Online Exclusives". Media.www.dennews.com. 2006-11-13. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  5. 1 2 "Welcome to Horizon Wind Energy". Horizonwind.com. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  6. ↑ "View". redOrbit. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 National Wind Watch, Inc. (2007-05-30). "Twin Groves Wind Farm may add 170 towers". Wind Watch. Archived from the original on May 24, 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  8. 1 2 "Twin Groves Wind Farm may add 170 towers". Pantagraph.com. 2007-05-30. Retrieved 2010-05-12.


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