Rockport, Missouri, Powered Only by Wind Turbines
Psychology says that all good habits and deeds must be set as an example to others so they will obey the rule of copying what’s good (of course, that also happens to the bad ones). Such an example is the town of Rockport from Missouri. Though the small town only features a population of 1,300 inhabitants, it is the first US community powered entirely by wind power.
They only have four wind turbines, which is not much (and probably so are their enegy consumption habits). The four turbines are part of a larger setup made up from 75 of such turbines, helping the power grid of three counties.
“We’re farming the wind, which is something that we have up here. The payback on a per-acre basis is generally quite good when compared to a lot of other crops, and it’s as simple as getting a cup of coffee and watching the blades spin”, said Jim Crawford, a natural resource engineer at the University of Missouri Extension in Columbia.
The wind turbines will also provide savings to rural electric companies. They will generate electricity for at least 20 years, the anticipated life span of the turbines.
“Anybody who is currently using Rock Port utilities can expect no increase in rates for the next 15 to 20 years,” Crawford said.
Jerry Baker, an MU Extension community development specialist. added that the turbines could also increase touristic attraction to the area.
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Oct 7th, 2008 at 12:19 am
All I read about is how Missouri is powered by wind power. Which is great, I hope everywhere is eventually powered (at least partially) by wind power. But I can’t find out if it’s the whole state or just parts of it. Can you help enlighten me?
Oct 20th, 2008 at 12:02 am
The whole state is not powered by wind turbines, just the northwest corner. Rock Port and King City are both located on vast amounts of prairie. The southern half of the state is too rocky and forested.
Oct 21st, 2008 at 4:52 pm
i’m doing a school research project on wind energy and i couldn’t find the adress and phone number. i think it’s really cool that you guys use wind energy.
Oct 21st, 2008 at 4:56 pm
who was wind energy invented by? when was wind energy invented?
Nov 16th, 2008 at 5:38 am
It’d be nice if we had some renewable energy projects here in the south east. Solar looks like the only option for us, but it’s too damn expensive.
Jun 12th, 2009 at 1:41 am
I stayed in Rockport and work right across the river a Cooper Nuclear 20 years ago. Is cooper still on line? Rockport was a great place to stay.
Jim