Spoon River College students in the BIO 140 class taught by Tom Vogel recently traveled to Cardinal Point Wind in Sciota to investigate the truth about wind energy. Joe Glaze of Capital Power answered students’ questions and gave then an inside view of the innerworkings of the generator. Students who wanted to climb to the top of the windmills were disappointed to learn that one must have weeks of rescue training before going up the ladder to the top.
One of the questions asked was whether any eagles had been killed by the windmills. Glaze answered no, not to their knowledge, but said bats can be a problem. “We shut down an hour before dusk and don’t turn back on until an hour after dawn so as not to interfere with bat migration.” It is estimated that these windmills will last 25 years.
Pictured l-r is Briley Roper, Tom Vogel, Bria Mitchell, Joe Glaze, Trustin Kimbrough, Teagen Perry, James Doyle, and Lily Powell. Present but pictured was Cassandra Whitford.
