U of M Schedules Open House for Special Wind Turbine Research Facility

The University of Minnesota will be having an open house this upcoming Tuesday for the public to see its new Wind Turbine Research Station located at UMore Park in Rosemount.

According to U of M press release, "United States Department of Energy (DOE) officials, energy industry partners, wind energy researchers, political leaders, University administrators and hundreds of local school children will watch the ceremonial “flip of the switch” to start up a 420-foot-tall wind turbine."

Guests must register to attend the event. The ceremony will take place at the Wind Energy Research Station on the eastern edge of the UMore Park property in Rosemount. After the ceremony, guests will get to tour the facility and a 426-foot meteorological research tower.

"The University of Minnesota was one of three university consortia to be awarded a DOE wind energy research grant in 2009. The $7.9 million award to the university’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory in the College of Science and Engineering, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, supports an academy-industry consortium focused on wind energy research and education activities," the press release said. "It also includes construction of the U.S.-made 2.5 megawatt Clipper Liberty wind turbine. The Wind Energy Research Station will host active consortium research as well as education and training of next generation wind industry workers."

“This new Wind Energy Research Station is about promoting research collaboration between academia and industry to improve wind energy efficiency and reliability,” said Fotis Sotiropoulos, director of the St. Anthony Falls Lab and consortium leader, in the release.