Nordex USA Inc. will be supplying 34 wind turbines to Exelon Wind LLC for the Beebe Community Wind Farm in Gratiot County, Michigan. The 81.6-MW wind farm will be the first major project worldwide and the first in the United States to use the Nordex N117/2400 turbine, the latest addition to the company’s respected Gamma Generation product family. The unit maximizes output in light winds. The 2.4 MW turbines, on 91-m towers, will be located on 21,000 acres near Ithaca, Michigan, about 45 miles north of Lansing. The electricity generated by the project will be supplied to Consumers Energy of Jackson, Michigan, under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
Nordex scores a number of firsts with this order. For instance, it is the largest contract to date for the N117/2400, it’s the first Nordex-developed American Project, and the first location in Michigan for the turbine.
Work will start May 2012 in preparation for delivery of the turbines beginning in September 2012. Nordex will be responsible for delivery, installation, commissioning and testing of the turbines and will provide ongoing maintenance under a 20-year Premium Service contract. Production of the turbine nacelles will take place at Nordex’ manufacturing plant in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Beebe Community Wind Farm is the first project that Nordex USA has developed, after entering a joint venture last year with the local developer who initiated the project.
Nordex USA President and CEO Ralf Sigrist said, “It is an honor to supply our wind turbines to Exelon, a company consistently ranked as one of the top diversified energy firms in the country. It’s particularly satisfying to share our excitement about the N117/2400 with a company able to take advantage of its increased yields and capabilities.” Nordex has completed and planned installations totaling 626.6 MW of its multi-megawatt range of turbines in locations across the country including Pennsylvania, Maryland, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Idaho, Colorado and Texas.
Nordex USA Inc.
Nordex-online.com
Filed Under: Construction, News, Projects
My son lives in Ithaca on Blair Rd,where they have placed these wind mill type structures. We recently found out a neighbor went to “refincace his home”, and “due to these being placed on their surrounding road, his property value has declined. The bank came “right out and told him”, due to these windmills being placed (and more coming) the area is “not a desired location any more”.Therefore “being down the value of your home”.
Both my son and his neighbor have lovely homes on 2 to 3 acres.
These families “had no choice” in this decision, and do you really “think its fair” that they “take a loss on their home when they chose to sell? If, they are “ever able to sell it??…I’m sure when the time comes, they should be “compensated” for the loss they take on their “selling price.”
My wife and I drive up to Mt. Pleasant frequently and have watched with interest the construction and turn-on of the windmills in this project. I would be quite interested in knowing the cost of installation and maintenance vs. the power generated. In other words how long will it take to pay off the cost of installation. Of course if the cost of maintenance is too high it will subtract from or kill the profit to be made. I am sure Consumers Energy did a very comprehensive study on all of this but I would be interested in how the results fit the plan.
I am an electronics engineer and so have to take such matters into account for any new product I develop.
We drive weekly between our home in Mt Pleasant MI and our medical specialists in Lansing, often coming home after dark. Tonight we noticed for the first time the red lights on top of the wind towers, all blinking simultaneously. It was fascinating and a little mysterious, like something out of science fiction. When we are driving during the day I enjoy watching the turbines turning, slowly, silently, majestically. I’m thrilled that Consumers Energy has taken this bold and forward-looking step.