More than just a stiff breeze: Fond du Lac-area wind powers more than 100,000 homes

EDEN – Standing beside a wind turbine in Alliant Energy’s Cedar Ridge Wind Farm, located in the towns of Eden and Empire, you can hear the low hum of the energy being generated as the 400-foot wood and fiberglass blades cut through the air.

Situated on a hill, this turbine is one of 41 across 12.2 square miles of land, which came into operation in December 2008. Generating an average of 68 megawatts, or MW, of emissions-free energy each year at an output rate of about 32 percent, this wind farm can power about 17,000 homes, according to Brian Dierksheide, Cedar Ridge Wind Farm site manager–Wind Generation. ...