April 8, 2012
Indiana

Cook County, feds to see results of Lynwood wind study project

By Gregory Tejeda Times Correspondent, www.nwitimes.com 8 April 2012

LYNWOOD | Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and U.S. Energy Department officials will be in this south suburb Wednesday to see the results of the village’s wind study project.

The project, which local and federal funding made possible, has generated data on renewable energy generation through the use of two turbines and a meteorological station with a video camera at 21460 Lincoln Highway.

Cook County received $120,000 in federal funds from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation block grant program to dedicate toward the project. Lynwood officials pledged another $18,000 in local funds.

Village officials are using information collected by the two turbines and the weather station to compare the turbines’ performance under varying wind conditions.

Side-by-side operations of the two turbines also is meant to provide helpful comparisons of wind speed and understanding of reliability and acoustic noise generation, Lynwood village officials said.

The first of the two turbines was built in August. Village President Eugene Williams at the time said the information will be used to “help our community expand into teaching others about wind energy power.”

Eventually, Lynwood officials want to connect the turbines to the local utility grid and use the energy it generates to pump water to Lynwood residents. Officials say placing the turbines near Village Hall makes them a visible part of the community.

Village officials also have said they want a program to teach people to become turbine technicians, in collaboration with either South Suburban College in South Holland or Prairie State College in Chicago Heights.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/04/08/cook-county-feds-to-see-results-of-lynwood-wind-study-project/