The folks at the West Central Research Outreach Center (WCROC) decided to throw a party recently in honor of their new green building dedication! The celebration took the form of a renewable energy road trip to showcase the great work that the folks at WCROC, University of Minnesota-Morris, local community members, and private companies in the area are doing to create a clean energy future.
The bus tour began in WCROC’s backyard. Upon arriving we received a brief overview of the work WCROC does, including: renewable energy, dairy and crop research, environmental horticulture, soil and water quality, participation in the Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, and operating as a University of Minnesota Extension Regional Center.
The WCROC building itself serves as a pilot project by utilizing two different solar systems to provide data to researchers, supply energy to the building, and act as a model for the community. The first system uses Minnesota-based Solar Skies flat plate collectors to heat domestic hot water. The Solar Skies system is currently being evaluated to look at output, cost savings, and payback. The Solar Skies hot water system works in two ways: (1) on cool and warm days the water flows directly into the water heater, bypassing the backup heater as the temperature is hot enough from the solar alone; (2) on really cold days the solar-heated water enters the building and is used to preheat the water in the hot water storage, which is then heated up to the desired temperature by the water heater.
The second solar system at WCROC is a solar heating and cooling system for the building’s new additions. The system uses 1,200 evacuated tubes to provide heated water to the fan coils that heat the building. In addition, the system utilizes an absorption chiller to turn the hot water into cool water to be used for air conditioning. As with the Solar Skies system, data is continuously being evaluated and tracked for research and educational purposes. The building uses a geothermal heat pump to supplement the solar system when needed.
A short bus ride later we stopped on the outskirts of a corn field to learn about the WCROC’s 1.65 MW Vesta wind turbine. The wind turbine stands tall at 230 feet with the rotors reaching out an additional 135 feet. The turbine supplies around 60% of the University of Minnesota Morris’ electricity needs via a direct line to the campus. The average wind speed at Morris is 17.5 mph, providing ample wind to produce energy. The turbine blades weren’t moving when we first arrived, but by the time we were leaving a slight breeze had everyone craning their necks to the sky to see the rotors spinning.
The turbine not only provides energy for UMM students, teachers, and faculty, but also supplies power to WCROC’s Wind to Hydrogen to Ammonia Plant. The plant began as a pilot project to store Hydrogen that could be used to provide fuel for a generator to produce energy during peak times or as needed. After the initial success in storing the wind energy via hydrogen, WCROC began looking for additional value added products. Because of its location in farming country, WCROC decided to invest in a pilot program designed to meet their unique needs. The next phase of the project was to create wind-powered nitrogen fertilizer, anhydrous ammonia (NH3), a fertilizer which is often applied to crops to increase yield. The pilot added a nitrogen generator, again powered by the wind, which separate Nitrogen gas (N2) from the ambient air. The next step is to combine the H and N2 in a reactor to produce NH3 fertilizer. The fertilizer can then be sold to local farmers for application on their fields. Excess H is stored and provides energy through a 60 kW generator. The pilot project will look at the economic feasibility of the pilot, ability to scale up, and a life cycle analysis of the production methods.
The next leg of the tour took us down a small hill and across the river separating the WCROC wind turbine and the UMM campus. Arriving at the campus we proceeded to the UMM Biomass Gasification System. The biomass gasification system is a partnership between UMM and WCROC to develop locally-produced energy and to develop an additional market for local farmers. The facility takes biomass—normally from corn, but they are experimenting with other biomass products to test their effectiveness—and heat the biomass through a process which uses very little oxygen. The lack of oxygen prevents combustion and turns the biomass into a synthesis gas. The synthesis gas is easily transported to a turbine where it is combusted and diverted to various streams. The waste heat is used to generate steam for district heating, the heated water is diverted to an absorption chiller for cooling, and electricity produced by the turbine is used on campus. The project is estimated to save around $400,000 per year! UMM expects to power its campus almost entirely by renewable energy through the biomass plant and wind turbine in the coming years.
The last stop for the day was Grant County Wind Farm, LLC. No matter how many times I see a wind farm, it always brings a smile to my face as I think about the possibilities going forward into the future. And if the single turbine at WCROC was impressive, the stop at Grant County was incredible. The eight Suzlon towers stand at 259 feet; the total height from tip to the ground is 407 feet. From the ground to the top it’s a long way up! The blades were manufactured in Suzlon’s manufacturing facility in Canby, MN.
The turbines were producing energy as we watched them, and are expected to create enough energy to supply 3,100 homes with clean electricity in an average year. These numbers are based on the assumption that the homes use electricity for their general use and for heating—with baseboard heaters, for instance. In addition to providing clean energy, the Grant Country Wind Farm is owned by local community members, a partnership made possible through its classification as a Community Based Energy Development (C-BED) project. The wind farm, and all of those like it in Minnesota, also keep people in good jobs; an engineer was working on the top of one of the turbines doing routine maintenance while we watched from 300 feet below.
After a very exciting day, we started our way back to the hotel for the night. The first day of the bus tour was a resounding success. Most of the chatter between folks revolved around the great work the folks in West Central Minnesota are not just thinking about doing, but actually implementing in their communities.
