A two-turbine project for Gundersen Health System in Winona County, MN is officially up and running. The 4.95-MW GL Wind project is the first-of-its-kind in North America to be constructed specifically to address the energy concerns of a large regional health organization, in this case, Gundersen Health System, according to developer Juhl Wind.
“We are seeing an increased demand for large commercial and industrial organization projects such as Gundersen’s,” says Corey Juhl, Vice President of Development for Juhl Wind Inc. “This community-based project will provide significant economic benefits to the region. As one piece of their Envision program, the wind farm project will help Gundersen Health System achieve their goal of becoming 100% energy independent by 2014.”
“This is an exciting time for Gundersen and our Envision program. This community wind project we have done with Juhl Wind was about two years in the making, and we’re happy to report that the turbines are now creating energy”, said Jeff Rich, executive director, GL Envision, LLC.
Rich added, “As a healthcare organization, it is important for us to lead by example. Creating renewable energy through programs, like the GL Wind project in Lewiston makes good business sense, creates local jobs during construction and ties directly to our mission of improving the health of the communities we serve. The money we generate from renewable energy projects, like the wind farm, and the money we save through energy conservation can be passed on to patients in the form of lower healthcare costs. The renewable energy projects are also allowing us to improve our environmental footprint in the communities we serve.”
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