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Power is now being generated by wind turbines in Invenergy’s Bishop Hill Wind Project.
Turbine blades began spinning for the first time Friday, with turbines north of Bishop Hill sending electricity to a substation on the east side of Kewanee, near Grebner Motors. As of Tuesday night, six turbines were producing power – a first in Galva area history.
“It’s a huge accomplishment – something we’re very proud of,” said an Invenergy spokesman Tuesday night. “To start out with a regular farm field and then to have it turn and now have spinning (turbines) is a great accomplishment.”
The whirling blades caught the attention of some area residents, who wondered if the project was now producing power.
One report said residents living near the spinning blades were having trouble with their TV reception as a result. The Invenergy spokesman said Tuesday he hadn’t heard of any such complaints.
The power from the Kewanee substation is being picked up and sent on by Tennessee Valley Authority, which is purchasing it from Invenergy. The electricity is not being consumed by any western Illinois residents.
If winds are strong enough, the turbines can produce 1.5 megawatts of power, the spokesman said.
More turbines are expected to be operational in coming days. The spokesperson said a handful of turbines should be turned on weekly from now on, unless construction issues or other problems arise.
“We’ll crank them up on a pretty even basis,” he said.
Those turbines will be located in various parts of the project, not necessarily north of Bishop Hill.
As of Tuesday night, Invenergy had erected 54 wind turbine towers, with all but one or two having blades already attached. All are located in the Galva-Bishop Hill area. They are part of Invenergy’s 133-turbine Phase I.
Phase II was originally supposed to host 133 turbines also – mostly going further west toward Woodhull – though that number wasn’t confirmed Tuesday. Part of Phase II – 50 turbines – were sold off to MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company by Invenergy on Jan. 20.
Power is now being generated by wind turbines in Invenergy’s Bishop Hill Wind Project.
Turbine blades began spinning for the first time Friday, with turbines north of Bishop Hill sending electricity to a substation on the east side of Kewanee, near Grebner Motors. As of Tuesday night, six turbines were producing power – a first in Galva area history.
“It’s a huge accomplishment – something we’re very proud of,” said an Invenergy spokesman Tuesday night. “To start out with a regular farm field and then to have it turn and now have spinning (turbines) is a great accomplishment.”
The whirling blades caught the attention of some area residents, who wondered if the project was now producing power.
One report said residents living near the spinning blades were having trouble with their TV reception as a result. The Invenergy spokesman said Tuesday he hadn’t heard of any such complaints.
The power from the Kewanee substation is being picked up and sent on by Tennessee Valley Authority, which is purchasing it from Invenergy. The electricity is not being consumed by any western Illinois residents.
If winds are strong enough, the turbines can produce 1.5 megawatts of power, the spokesman said.
More turbines are expected to be operational in coming days. The spokesperson said a handful of turbines should be turned on weekly from now on, unless construction issues or other problems arise.
“We’ll crank them up on a pretty even basis,” he said.
Those turbines will be located in various parts of the project, not necessarily north of Bishop Hill.
As of Tuesday night, Invenergy had erected 54 wind turbine towers, with all but one or two having blades already attached. All are located in the Galva-Bishop Hill area. They are part of Invenergy’s 133-turbine Phase I.
Phase II was originally supposed to host 133 turbines also – mostly going further west toward Woodhull – though that number wasn’t confirmed Tuesday. Part of Phase II – 50 turbines – were sold off to MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company by Invenergy on Jan. 20.
