Is the Windmill City making a comeback?
In the early 1800s Kalamazoo was known as “The Windmill City.” Professor of engineering John Patten is trying to bring that moniker back. His lecture entitled “Wind Energy Potential in Michigan” focused on the benefits of wind energy for Michigan on Oct. 22 in Western Michigan University’s new chemistry building. Patten, who constructed a $10,000 wind turbine on WMU’s engineering campus, began with a disclaimer that his presentation didn’t have anything to do with his specialty. Michigan has a good wind resource, infrastructure, and manufacturing landscape, making it a prime spot for the development and utilization of wind turbine energy, Patten said. “Why wind energy?” Patten asked. “It gives off no sulfur dioxide, no nitrous dioxide, no carbon dioxide that we talk a lot about today in terms of greenhouse gases.” Currently, the US ranks second to Germany for worldwide wind energy output, putting out over 12 gigawatts in 2007 for just under one percent of the United States’ total energ
In the early 1800s Kalamazoo was known as “The Windmill City.” Professor of engineering John Patten is trying to bring that moniker back. His lecture entitled “Wind Energy Potential in Michigan” focused on the benefits of wind energy for Michigan on Oct. 22 in Western Michigan University’s new chemistry building. Patten, who constructed a $10,000 wind turbine on WMU’s engineering campus, began with a disclaimer that his presentation didn’t have anything to do with his specialty. Michigan has a good wind resource, infrastructure, and manufacturing landscape, making it a prime spot for the development and utilization of wind turbine energy, Patten said. “Why wind energy?” Patten asked. “It gives off no sulfur dioxide, no nitrous dioxide, no carbon dioxide that we talk a lot about today in terms of greenhouse gases.” Currently, the US ranks second to Germany for worldwide wind energy output, putting out over 12 gigawatts in 2007 for just under one percent of the United States’ total energ
