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Lincoln Wind Energy Facility
Fourteen large wind turbines are now making electricity for customers
of Wisconsin Public Service. The final wind turbine was connected
to the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation electrical system on
June 26, 1999, completing the 9 megawatt project in the Kewaunee County Town
of Lincoln.
Project Details
- Project Purpose
- Add 9 megawatts of renewable wind energy to the Wisconsin Public Service
electric system to comply with the Governor's Electric Reliability Law of 1998
(1997 Wisconsin Act 204). When operating at full power, the wind turbines should
be able to power 3,600 typical homes.
- Project Description
- Construct and operate a total of 14 wind turbines on the high lands in the
Kewaunee County township of Lincoln.
- Land Requirements
- WPS is leasing the land from private
landowner(s). WPS intends to have minimal
impact on the leased land. A single-lane access road and about a 40'-square
parcel of land is needed for each unit.
- Revenue Pay Back
- The Town of Lincoln and Kewaunee County will receive an annual payback based
on the state's existing "Shared Revenue" tax formula (The wind turbines are exempt
from property tax). Based on initial project cost estimates of about $10-million,
the town would receive about $23,000 and the county would receive $45,000 for the
first year. This annual payback would decrease every year as the equipment
depreciates over 30 years. The total net revenue over 30 years is $200,000 for the
town and $375,000 for the county.
- Project Site
- East Central Wisconsin Kewaunee County, Town of Lincoln approximately 1½
miles north of Rio Creek.
- Site Description
- Agricultural use
- Site Acreage
- Approximately 5 acres leased
- Elevation
- 800' above sea level
- Wind Direction
- The wind direction is predominately west southwest.
- Project Specifics
- WPS share of the 50 megawatts required under
act 204 is 9 megawatts thus the 14 turbines rated @ 660 Kw.
- Total Cost: $10.25 Million
- Annual Energy Production: 24,282,720 kWh Gross (Total) energy for approximately
3600 homes.
- Expected Life of the Turbines: 30 years
- Permits
- Town of Lincoln: Conditional Use Permit, Building Permit
- Federal: Federal Aviation Administration (Filed for each turbine)
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Wind Turbine and Equipment
- Turbine Design
- Vestas V-47 660Kw is a horizontal axis up wind turbine, pitch-regulated with
OPTISLIP and OPTITIP designed specifically for cold weather application. The
OPTISLIP concept permits increased rotor speed at wind gusts thus minimizing
fluctuations on to the grid as well as reducing mechanical wear and tear. OPITIP
regulates the pitch of the blades.
- Turbine Manufacturer
- Vestas (Denmark)
- Generator
- Generator - Asynchronous with OPTISLIP
- 660 Kw
- 60 Hz
- 28.5 RPM
- 690 Volt
- Control
- V.M.P. - Controller (Vesta Multiprocessor Controller)
- Microprocessor
- based monitoring of all turbine function, plus OPTISLIP - regulation of output
and OPTITIP - pitch regulation of the blades. (Cut in and cut out of turbine,
automatic yawing of the nacelle(rotation of generator, and blades), synchronizing
to the grid, error statistics, etc.).
- Rotor Design
- Three blades constructed of glass fiber reinforced epoxy. 75.4' (23 meters) in
length.
- Rotor Diameter
- 154' (47 meters)
- Brake System
- Disc (3) hydraulic activated
- Tower
- Conical tubular steel, constructed in three sections with internal safety
ladder and nacelle access.
- Bottom diameter 10.8' (3.3. Meters)
- Top diameter 7.5' (2.3 meters)
- Hub height 213' (65 meters)
- Overall height 292' (89 meters)
- Integrated Lightning Protection
- The protection system includes lightning arrestors, deep earth grounding, and
shielding
- Foundation Design
- Proprietary design by Patrick & Henderson utilizing two cylindrical rings
14 feet and 10 feet in diameter and embedded in existing rock approximately 16
feet.
- Turbine Performance
- Rated Power Output: 660Kw @ 33.5mph (15m/s)
- Start-up Wind Speed: 9.2 MPH (4m/s)
- Cut Out Wind Speed: 55 MPH (24 M/s)
- Optimal Operating Wind Speed: 33.35 Mph (15m/s)
- Survival Wind Speed: Over 100 MPH
- Grid Connection
- 24.9Kv underground distribution feeder
- Transformers
- 14 @ 750 Kva each 24.9Kv - 690 Volt
- Wind Resource
- The average annual wind speed at the project site is estimated to be
approximately 15.4 mph (6.9m/s) at a height of 213 feet (65 meters) above ground
level, the hub height of the wind turbines.
- Weight
- Rotor: 15,900 Lbs
- Nacelle: 45,000 Lbs
- Tower (top): 32,800 Lbs
- Tower (milile): 52,000 Lbs
- Tower (bottom): 62,200 Lbs
- TOTAL: 207,900 Lbs

Yearly Electric Output Provided by Lincoln Wind Energy Facility since June 1999
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