UPDATED: Lorain,Ohio's first wind turbine ready for installation.

Curiosity got the best of me so I took a drive to Turtle Plastics and what a surprise! As I arrived at the site a sense of euphoria that I've never experienced before took over. What started as casual conversation a long time ago and through legislation is now set to becoming a reality.

I do believe they call that progress!

You can't help but notice the tower on it's side ready to be hoisted.

The top of the tower with no blades... http://www.redriven.net/

The blades...

The base, the tower and the blades in the background...


The inside cabling...

looks like a cable pull from here to the electrical box



The concrete base is 12' by 15' and 4 ft deep.

_________________________________________________________
Monday, February 2, 2009

The City of Lorain,Ohio has it's first wind turbine.

My day started at 9am with a phone call from Michael D. Specek, General Manager of Engineered Process Systems, LTD. He call to tell me LeMeister Crane & Storage the boom crane was onsite at Turtle Plastics to begin the wind turbine installation.

securing the ropes...

up, up and away...

working fast to bolt me down...

get these ropes off me I'm ready to go to work...

Wind Power Now a Reality In Lorain

Green Company at 7400 Industrial Pkwy Is The First To Use Wind Power

In February of 2008 I attended a Lorain Sustainability meeting on Advanced Renewable Energy and Energy Alternatives held at Jackalope’s Restaurant. In attendance were state, county and locally elected officials as well as businesses, citizens, wind turbine consultants, developers and energy entrepreneurs. The discussions were about Ohio’s Energy future, State of Ohio’s SB 221 the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard, Advanced Renewable Energy Technologies and the green wave that was surging across the country.

It was after the sustainability council meeting that I felt the urgency to introduce the Green Team Lorain Resolution (pg 26). I met with the law department to review SB221 along with other cities policies. It was in March of 2008 that I drafted and submitted the Green Team Lorain resolution where it was held in committee for 6 months. After the resolution was sent to a second reading for the building and lands committee review it was later passed unanimously (pg 7) as Res 37-08 on Oct. 6, 2008.

Also, around the same time frame I met with a wind consultant about a proposed commercial wind turbine in the City of Lorain’s Industrial Park off of Baumhart Rd., but because the City of Lorain presently did not have any ordinances in regards to wind turbines. I saw an immediate need to draft an amending ordinance (pg2) that would allow for the first ever small wind turbine in the city of Lorain.

The planning commission reviewed and recommended (pg 1) the change on May 19th and on June 23 2008 a Public Hearing was held to discuss a proposed amendment to Codify Ordinance 1173.04. After the Public Hearing the ordinance went to first reading and was passed unanimously.

The foundation for a small wind turbine has been poured at Turtle Plastics, the turbine is on site and construction is to begin next week!

Executives from wind-turbine makers to attend Obama visit

Magnet for executives
Executives from major wind-turbine manufacturers and distributors will attend today's visit by President-elect Barack Obama.

These companies are expected to send representatives:

AAER, Montreal, Canada
Acciona Energy, West Branch Iowa
Clipper Windpower, Carpinteria, Calif.
Fastenal (a distributor), Winona, Minn.
Gamesa, Fairless Hills, Pa.
Mitsubishi Power Systems, Huntington Beach, Calif.
Nordex USA, Chicago
Repower Systems, Portland, Ore.
Suzlon, Chicago
Vestas America, Portland, Ore.
Williams Fastener & Supply, (a distributor), Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Representatives from the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group, and the Great Lakes Wind Network, a manufacturing advocacy group, also are expected to attend.

Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co. in Bedford Hts. fired up about Obama visit

John Funk
Plain Dealer Reporter

Bedford Heights -- Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co. makes bolts for the energy industry. And jobs. Today, its 65 workers will help President-elect Barack Obama make a bit of history.
Obama will visit the company before beginning a journey to Washington, D.C., for his inauguration. The president-elect is expected to talk more specifically about his Recovery and Reinvestment Plan

The Obama administration wants to help U.S. industry create 3 million to 4 million jobs, many of them tied directly to the nation's new emphasis on renewable energy such as wind turbines and solar panels. Cardinal is already a success story in those areas. The company makes high-strength bolts for products such as wind turbines and oil drilling platforms.

Gov. Ted Strickland introduced its president, John Grabner, and Cardinal as an example of green jobs to an audience of more than 800 last month at a meeting of the American Wind Energy Association held in Cleveland. The governor plans to attend today's event.
Since Cardinal's foray into the wind business two years ago, it has added 15 jobs, not counting the two people hired this week, Grabner said Thursday at the plant, as a swirl of workers tried to prepare for Obama's visit.

The mood at the small company ran from tense to excited to jubilation. Phones rang constantly. Staffers ran in and out of Grabner's chilly office worrying about Secret Service agents and whether press kits for more than 100 reporters would arrive in time.
Out back, a worker with a floor scrubber the size of a Zamboni scrubbed the oily plant floor. Workers were setting up displays of Cardinal's products - custom-made bolts of any length not only for oil rigs and wind towers but also for bridges, heavy equipment and industrial machines. All of it from the best U.S.-made steel.

Some workers were still turning out bolts that had to be shipped Thursday. And Brandon "Smokey" Delafosse, a 14-year veteran who supervises forge production of the bolts, worried about his role today introducing Obama.
"I am thoroughly excited," he said. "If you had asked me earlier, I would not have been able to respond."

Asked what he might say personally to Obama if given the chance, Delafosse, an African-American, said, "I am proud of him, and it is an honor to be able to introduce him to millions of people in the world."