The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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January 31, 2010

Your View: MMPA/Avant Energy have had problems

Mary Nesgoda, Le Sueur The Free Press

LE SUEUR — At its community information meeting Jan. 12, Minnesota Municipal Power Agency stated on its “Hometown Windpower” display that they had a wind turbine in service in 2009 in each of their member communities. I have never seen the wind turbine running that MMPA installed south of Le Sueur.

When questioned about the status of this turbine at the meeting, members of Avant Energy, the company managing the wind turbines for MMPA, provided answers such as: “Well, it was from California and it doesn’t work so well in this climate” and “It will be running in two weeks.”

Well, the two weeks are up and I haven’t seen any action in it. In fact, an article in the Jan. 21 edition of The Pioneer Press noted that not one of the 11 wind turbines installed by MMPA were running.

This brings into question the validity of the other information provided at the community meeting. President of Avant Energy Derick Dahlen is quoted in the Pioneer Press article as blaming his engineering and construction contractor for the delay.

Did MMPA/Avant Energy fail to complete their due diligence when choosing the contractors for this project? The article also details that the turbines were used and although refurbished, are unable to work appropriately in cold weather. Might we face similar issues if MMPA is allowed to construct the proposed anaerobic digester in the north Le Sueur Industrial Park?

Perhaps Rick Almich, Le Sueur city administrator, may want to recant his declaration at the Dec. 14 city council meeting, “I will stake my reputation, my legacy, my credibility, on this group.”

 

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