Kalamazoo, Mich.
Western Michigan University (WMU) dedicated the area’s first direct grid connected wind turbine at the College of Engineering & Applied Science in Kalamazoo on Sept. 14, 2007. The turbine, installed by the engineering college, WMU's Physical Plant, and project contractor Bauer Power, currently provides two kilowatts of power and will be upgraded to provide five kilowatts during the next few years. The construction cost for utility scale wind energy plants is comparable to the cost of building coal-fired plants but without the necessity for fossil fuel consumption. WMU is also planning to install two additional turbines in the future, a 10 to 15 kilowatt generator and a 100 to 200 kilowatt generator.
