Contributed by: filbert Friday, May 16 2008 @ 05:43 PM CST
Rock Port only has a population of 1,316 but last week they threw the switch as America’s first ever community completely powered by the wind.
“With wind you need a windy area. Fortunately for northwest Missouri, the bulk of it is here, but there are other places where this can be done, ” Carnahan said.
Yes, northwest Missouri is windier than central Missouri. It takes winds of up to 9-miles per hour to get those blades spinning. Rock Port is now powered by four wind turbines. In all, 79 turbines are operational in northwest Missouri.
I’ve noticed the growing forest of white windmills up on the bluffs overlooking Rock Port as we drove to and from the Ancestral Home (i.e. South Dakota). I have noticed that more often than not you see windmills that are not turning. Hopefully they can keep these ones running, and it’ll pay off for them.