News

Aug 12, 2023

Curious Iowa: Why is the Kirkwood Community College wind turbine locked in place?

The wind turbine was ‘parked’ in May while the school decides next steps Jul. 31, 2023 5:00 am, Updated: Jul. 31, 2023 9:05 am Wind turbines are monuments in the sky. So when one of them isn’t turning

The wind turbine was ‘parked’ in May while the school decides next steps

Jul. 31, 2023 5:00 am, Updated: Jul. 31, 2023 9:05 am

Wind turbines are monuments in the sky. So when one of them isn’t turning on a windy day, people take notice.

That’s what led one curious Iowan to ask The Gazette what’s happening with the wind turbine at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids and why it never seems to be turning.

Curious Iowa is a series from The Gazette that seeks to answer your questions about the state, its culture and the people who live here.

Kirkwood’s Clipper wind turbine was constructed in 2012. It was put on campus for two reasons. The first was to educate students through the Energy Production and Distribution program. Regular turbine maintenance was performed by students, while contractors were brought in for higher level repairs.

Kirkwood spent about $50,000 a year on contracted maintenance with groups like Renewable Concepts. These contractors typically hired students from Kirkwood’s Energy Production and Distribution program.

In 2012, the program had 54 students. In 2022, its enrollment was down to 22 students. The college closed the Energy Production and Distribution program this year.

“This is very common in higher education where we have these career technical spaces, labs, equipment that can cost a lot of money but the industry changes,” said Kirkwood Utilities and Public Safety Vice President Troy McQuillen. “And the one thing about Kirkwood is that we can be very flexible with those changes.

“So, now the wind turbine becomes part of our sustainability equipment and our sustainability initiatives for the college,” McQuillen said. “We’re looking forward to figuring out what we’re going to learn about it.”

The second benefit of having a wind turbine on a college campus was being able to sell the energy it produced. Alliant Energy purchased power from the Kirkwood turbine and credited Kirkwood on monthly utility bills.

Those agreements started at $68 per megawatt-hour when the turbine was new. Over the years the credit decreased to $33 per megawatt-hour as more wind technology came on board in Iowa.

To put those prices in perspective, one megawatt-hour is equal to 1,000 kilowatts of electricity used in an hour. In 2021, the average residential utility customer used about 886 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Kirkwood has received $2.4 million in wind energy credits from Alliant Energy since 2012. That’s about half the $4.7 million construction cost for the turbine and the identical nacelle — the piece that houses the generating components of a wind turbine — which is used for indoor lab experiences. Kirkwood Media Relations Director Justin Hoehn said that the nacelle still is in the Jones Hall Energy Lab and likely will be used for future trainings.

Kirkwood’s wind turbine was “parked” in May of this year while its future is discussed.

“When folks pass by, they’ll see that the blades are pointed directly north,” McQuillen said. “The blades are pitched at a specific degree and everything has been latched together so that the wind turbine won’t move in any type of Iowa wind that we receive.”

Parking the turbine is no more costly than a service call, Hoehn said.

Curious Iowa Newsletter Signup

Delivered once a week, each Tuesday

Please add [email protected] to your contact list.

McQuillen said the turbine is approaching the end of its life expectancy and requires maintenance, including a new gearbox, but the gearbox it needs is no longer manufactured.

Hoehn said other factors that contributed to the decision to park the turbine include a loss of internal expertise on the turbine and the availability of contracted services willing to assist in the maintenance of a single wind turbine.

Now, Kirkwood is weighing three options:

“We recognize that this is a statue that represents Kirkwood. Obviously, there’s a giant K on the side of the wind turbine as well.” McQuillen said. “I think that we want to make the best decisions moving forward with our campus plan and what our initiatives are, but I hope to have a lot more to report on here in the next year.”

Kirkwood will be working with a consultant to identify ways to better support sustainability initiatives, and the turbine is a large part of that discussion.

“We’re hoping to learn a lot more about what we do as a campus, everything from recycling to what we use on our grounds to how we maintain our native areas and natural spaces to the products we use to clean our campuses and facilities,” McQuillen said. “So all of this is going to be bundled together here in the next year.”

Tell us what you’d like us to investigate next.

Comments: [email protected]