By Monty Siekerman
Kevin Mierzejewski, flying in a light sport aircraft, captured photos of some of the giant wind turbines now being placed just east of Ada.
• The turbines are gigantic compared to the three at ONU and the one at Ada Schools. The tower of these is 300 feet high, the blade is 150 feet long, thus when a blade is pointing up, the turbine reaches 450 feet from the ground.
• The placement has been described as north of Dola and Dunkirk, but in reality the "turbine farm" begins just three miles west of town near SR81 and CR 75 (near Sugar Grove UM Church). They are visible from Ada, if trees do not obstruct one's view.
When up and running, the turbines are supposed to produce enough electricity to met the energy needs of 17,000 homes. By comparison, Hardin County has about 13,000 homes.
The increased property valuation from the project will help the county and Hardin Northern school district through increased tax revenue.
Together, the 30 turbines are a $100 million project, known as Hog Creek Wind Farm, being developed by EDP Renewable Energy headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal. The company, specializing in clean electricity, owns 41 wind farms and two solar fields. It is a publicly traded company listed as Euronext: EDPR.
RES Construction is in charge of the major installation. The company, headquartered in Colorado, has offices in the U.S. and Canada.
