There’s lots of ethereal talk about renewable energy, but renewable energy is a very real ‘hands on’ alternative that is viable today. These are photos taken (by a RENew Northfield board member) at an installation of two small scale (under 40 kW) wind turbines last week at the Springer farm near Owatonna. 
Joseph Springer and Frank Springer each have a turbine, a remanufactured formerly Vesta turbine with a totally different generator. The turbines came from Energy Maintenance Services and an EMS crew did the installation. It’s not an easy job.
In my work on the Wind Energy Task Force’s School District/Carleton College wind project, composed of representatives of the School District, Carleton College, and RENew Northfield we’ve seen some good movement forward recently and are taking steps toward establishing the specific terms and expectations under which we could build a joint wind turbine project. In June, I co-presented a workshop on ‘Community Wind: Bringing Locally Owned Wind Energy to Your Community’ at the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair and shared our experience in Northfield with a crowd from all over the Midwest, including at least 4 Northfielders!
If you want more information about setting up your own wind turbine, there is information about developers and consultants at the Windustry and American Wind Energy Association websites.
And here’s the obligatory sunset turbine photo from the Springer farm:
