Gob_Nob_Photos

The coal tailings pile is just ½ mile from RECC's Farmersville substation, which will distribute the electricity generated by the wind turbine.
An aerial view of the hill, with the access road to the top shown in red.
The foundation is started in July 2008 with a steel ring, 20 feet long and 14 feet in diameter, that's lowered into a hole on top of the hill. Another ring, about 12 feet in diameter, is placed inside to form a shell for the foundation concrete.
A total of 160 bolts reach from the bottom of the foundation to the top, which will eventually hold the tower and turbine. A steel ring is supported at the top to assure proper alignment of the bolts.
With the outer and inner rings in place, the shell was filled with concrete and the inside ring was filled with dirt.
A "cap" was poured over the foundation rings, 25 feet by 25 feet. The tower base will sit over this ring of bolts, with a precise tension put on the tightening nuts. Over 250 cubic yards of concrete are in the base.
Three sections of steel tower, each 75 feet long, were erectedwith a huge crane. Each section is secured with a row of bolts around its perimeter.
The 900-kilowatt generator is ready to be liftedto the top of the tower. It weighs 62,000 pounds!
The generator is gently placed on the nacelle, where workers wait to bolt it into place. The nacelle on our EWT turbine is much smaller than most models because there's no gear box between the blades and the generator. The direct-drive generatorturns at the same speed as the rotor and blades, creating low-frequency AC power. Electronic comonents at the bottom of the tower torn this electricity into DC power, and then back to AC at 600 volts and 60 Hz frequency to match our power system.
The three blades were attached to the hub in one evening,ready to be lifted onto the generator. Each blade is 80 feet long, and its pitch can be adjusted to catch more or less wind as needed.
The blades are lifted at dusk on December 21 to complete the construction process.
The finished turbine will produce electricity whenever the wind speed is abot 4 mph or hifgher. The generator automatically totates on top of the tower to face into the wind, or face away to protect the blades if winds exceed 55 mph.