Winds of Change?

If you haven’t heard anything about wind energy in Indiana over the past year or so, then you haven’t been listening (or you’ve been too caught up in the "Jon & Kate Plus 8" saga, which is totally understandable).

But our friends at Inside INdiana Business offered an interesting article today in which an expert from Purdue University suggested the possibility exists that wind energy might even be more profitable than corn, at least for some Hoosier farmers.

A Purdue University Extension renewable energy specialist believes the wind industry is becoming a once in a generation opportunity for the Indiana agriculture community. Chad Martin will guide a session during this month’s WIndiana conference in Indianapolis. He says the base lease payment for farmers to put a turbine on their property has increased over the past few years to the $3,000 to $5,000 range per year per megawatt of production. Some are getting up to $10,000 a year per turbine. 

Also, feel free to read my piece in the July/August BizVoice magazine, which features the latest goings on with wind energy in Indiana.

On a related note, Brevini Wind USA  and VAT-Group USA will hold prospective windpower Supplier Conferences on July 23 in Muncie. To learn more or to be considered, check out work-one.org (see Brevini’s info here and VAT-Group info here).

7 thoughts on “Winds of Change?

  1. My husband and I were driving back from Chicago (we live in Florida)after Christmas and saw the turbines (windmills). What an impressive sight!! We have done a great deal of travel throughout Europe; and, turbines are a very common sight. It is about time our country makes more use of our natural resources. I wonder how many Americans driving along the expressway next to us even realized what they were looking at…… Thank you.

  2. What a surprise to see the field of towers rising above the fields last Tuesday as we drove I-65 from Indy to Lake County! Just a week before, someone had mentioned the turbines, and then to see our state taking a lead in renewable energy was exciting.

  3. Pretty impressive sight and of course good for the environment, but could definitely be a distraction to drivers. As I drove down I-65, I thought I was in an episode of the X-Files. It’s a sight we have to get accustomed to.

  4. We travelled over I-65 in Indiana five times in the last year from the East Coast to Illinois. The wind farms are beautiful – almost hypnotic! Ecotourism at its best – my kids were begging to go for a visit to one of the turbines. Sounds like a small business opprtunity waiting to happen……..

  5. As my family and I travelled back from a funeral in Chicago, IL over the weekend we had seen the red lights on the way up and I had told my brother they were probably windmills. On the drive home during the daylight hours we were amazed to see them for miles and miles. Indiana is taking a lead role in this source of energy, “hats off” to their leaders, Kentucky would do well to take this same type of initiative. Thanks for taking care of our environment for generations yet to be born.

  6. I am a Florida Science Educator and drove to Chicago this summer. It was great to see the wind turbines in action because I always talk about this as an alternative source of energy in my class.

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