Wisconsin’s Largest Wind Turbines to Begin Operating in Green Bay Area

Located along the Niagara Escarpment are some of the tallest wind turbines in the nation. Each turbine rises nearly 500 feet from the ground which is only 100 feet shorter than Wisconsin’s tallest skyscraper, the U.S. Bank building.

The turbines are located in Glenmore, as part of the Shirley Wind project and are expected to start producing power later this month.

Several Wisconsin companies contributed to the effort including Michels Wind Energy of Brownsville and Tower Tech of Manitowoc. Tower Tech states that the towers produced for the Shirley Wind project are the largest they have ever produced.

“I can’t tell you how exciting it has been to watch this go up, and to feel and touch the turbines, and know that it’s Wisconsin through and through,” said Bill Rakocy project developer of Emerging Energies.

The new turbines will supply power to Wisconsin Public Service Corp. which in turn will sell energy credits to the stat to help it reach its goal of getting 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources.

Each of the new turbines will generate about 2.5 megawatts of electricity which is four times as much as the first two turbines built in Glenmore 12 years ago.

Emerging Energies predicts that the Shirley Wind project will generate enough power over the next year to meet the needs of 8,000 customers.