A Turbine Story...
An undeniable benefits of using wind turbines to generate electricity is the jobs these 300 foot tall behemoths create. As with all things mechanical, these giant structures require up keep, which in turn requires people such as Aaron Smith to climb the towers and maintain the mechanisms that keep the power flowing. When asked whether he thought that wind farms are the future, and if they are worth future investment, he responded with an immediate, “Definitely.” While this reaction is to be expected from an individual whose livelihood depends on these machines, Aaron's reasoning for wanting more of America's energy to come from wind turbines is sound. Smith got his start in the field when he began attending Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon in 2009. Three semesters and one internship later and Smith found himself working for the Suzlon energy corporation, which operates turbine fields literally the world over, including the Big Sky Project in Ohio, Il. The 11 8 turbine, 240 megawatt wind farm, located on the border of Lee and Bureau County is were Smith currently works. However, according to Smith, the training he received at school only goes so far. “Most of what I do,” he says, “I learned out there, not in school.” This may make it sound as if school was unnecessary, but Smith concedes that the main purpose of the program is to, “help get my foot in the door to get a job.” In this economy, there seems to be nothing more important, than simply getting a leg up. However, in the rapidly growing wind industry, one might not need a leg up so much as courage. Courage that is, to climb the 300 foot towers every day to keep them clean and maintained. According to Smith, if one is able to get past the daunting heights of the turbines, feels competent enough to operate in close proximity to high voltage electronics, and can use a rag, then wind energy is the field to get into. As Smith bluntly puts it, “honestly, I'd say 50 percent of my job is cleaning. They don't tell you that when you go to wind turbine school that you'll be using a rag. There's a lot of moving parts up there and grease, and you got to keep it clean.” And keep it clean he does, day in and day out, climbing the towers with the 1 3 other men in his crew that clean and maintain the 11 8 turbines that make up Ohio's Big Sky turbine field. Thirteen men for this size of turbine field is about average, but according to Smith, Suzlon is in search of a few more employees to help ease the current crews workload that sees Smith and his coworkers working 1 0 hour days. While the work may be difficult, and indeed terrifying, it does not come without compensation, in this case in the form of both wages and health care benefits. Smith has been working through Suzlon through a temp agency, but will soon be an official Suzlon employee. “I get hired on next week,” Smith says, “and once I get hired on, my benefits include health insurance, dental insurance and vision insurance and all my premiums are paid. I don't pay anything out of my check for that.” This sort of benefits package is no joke in an economy that rarely affords an industry to offer any kind of health care, let alone a Cadillac plan such as this. However, excellent health care should be expected from a job that involves so much immediate danger. But there is no reward without risk, and in at least one man's eyes, this risk is worth the reward of having a potentially lifelong career in the rapidly growing industry of wind energy.
Slide shoes on. Stretch to the left, then right. Raise my hands high into the sky and then back down to grab the ground. After a few more stretches I felt limber and ready to go. One foot fell in front of the other and I was jogging down my usual route. Everything about this time out was the same as every other run I've gone on, except that I am barefoot, well nearly. Every other time I've headed down the three miles of abrasive chip and tar layered over rolling country hills that constitutes my route, I have been equipped with a pair of cross trainers (an all purpose athletic shoe), shorts and a t-shirt. For this run I kept the shorts and tee, but lost the shoes. Instead of sliding into my regular shoes, I put on foot-wear that look like ruggedized toe socks. The appropriately named
'The tree at the crossroads which marks my routes halfway point'
Vibram Fivefingers KSO (Keep Stuff Out), are composed of a thin rubber sole, a spot for each toe, nylon that wraps around the top of the foot and a Velcro strap that holds everything together. The most accurate description in terms of both look and feel, is that they are like gloves for your feet. Vibram footwear currently holds a unique place in the running world. On the verge of being a trend, runners and trainers are adopting the mindset that wearing traditional athletic shoes is not always a necessity. Everyone from more casual runners such as myself, all the way up to individuals that tackle what are known as ultra-marathons (races ranging from 27 miles up to 1 00 plus miles), are choosing to do so in minimalist footwear, or even barefoot. While I wasn't going for 1 00 miles, three miles is not insignificant for me, especially with unproven footwear. The first mile went down easy, as it should because of its downhill grade. My legs moved easily, but in a completely different way than they ever had before. My stride length had been shortened considerably and as a result I took more, but quicker steps. Another form difference I noticed with the barefoot shoes was the way my foot struck the ground. In cross trainers, I would plant my heel first, toes next and 'pull' myself forward. This was not the case at all on this run. My form now became: land on the ball of my foot and toes, use my calf muscle to lower my heel until it almost brushed the ground, then snap my foot downward to press off the ground. In a study done by Harvard University's Skeletal Biology Lab on barefoot running, using this pattern of forefoot strikes not only leads to,
“lower impact forces,” but can also lead to, “lower rates of injury.” But in the same study, they also caution to, “stretch your calves and hamstrings carefully and regularly as you make the transition.” As I began to climb the most brutal hill of the run, my calves started to strain and ache. By the time I reached the top of the 300 odd yard incline, my muscles were screaming and the time between my breaths had become shorter. The enjoyable discomfort of running had finally set in, and I continued on to the tree at the crossroads which marks my routes halfway point. It was at this point I started to notice new things about the path I have been running for several years. For instance, I could feel the difference between the rough, but solid asphalt road as compared to the soft spikiness of the narrow gravel shoulder. This sensation was one that had been totally lost on me with traditional cross-trainers. I tapped the tree at the corner with my palm and turned around immediately. Only a mile and a half to go. Coasting back down the hill that had been such a pain to climb, I stretched out a bit and hit the bottom in no time. There I switched my breathing pattern and prepared for another long incline. Angling around a curve in the road, the asphalt began to gradually rise beneath my feet. Again, my calves were screaming at me. At this point I was moving slower than I usual, the internal timer I have set from repeatedly traveling this route tells me that I am off by a lot, but this is okay. As I sprint out my finish, I feel good. Not exhausted, not too sore, just good. After a few stretches and a brief cool down walk, the glove-shoes are off, and I am headed for a drink and a shower. I had no way of knowing at the time, but the shoes and the form stuck. I got over the calf soreness after a couple of weeks, and have never felt better about running. At least for now, I am sold on the minimalist method.
'Coasting back down the hill...'
Arugula, Kale, and other vegetables growing in a prototype aquaponic bed
If wind energy is the alternative, then The Plant Chicago is the alternative to the alternative. Wind energy receives a lot of attention in Illinois, but while massive turbine installation's such as the 21 7 megawatt Lee/DeKalb wind farm, or the 240 megawatt Big Sky farm in Ohio, work well when spread over thousands of acres of countryside, this is not possible in urban environments. Even in the windy city, wind just isn't enough. This was made evident within the first five minutes of walking into The Plant. Located on 1 400 W. 46th St., The Plant is neighbor to Testa Inc., a manufacturing firm that has one of the 300 foot tall turbines installed on their property. “I think that's the first time I've ever seen it spinning,” The Plant volunteer Micah Ross notes dryly. This sentiment is echoed by John Edel, the visionary behind The Plant, Bubby Llc., and Chicago Sustainable Manufacturing Center, whom I met over a lunch of taco's in The Plant's break room. “It just doesn't work in the city like it does in the country,” says Edel. From here Edel jumps off into the intricacies of how The Plant will be powered. If windmills that turn out hundreds of megawatt's worth of power are wild, then Edel's plan for The Plant, is truly from another planet. The Plant, an approximately 45,000 square foot former pork processing facility that is being converted by Edel and a handful of volunteers into a cutting edge business incubation facility. Once finished, The Plant will house multiple indoor urban farms that grow aquaponic vegetables and raise tilapia, alongside a brewery, a bakery, and a laboratory that grows mushrooms. And this is just the beginning, Edel hopes that the seeds planted by these initial businesses will attract other environmentally minded operations. Over a lunch of tacos and freshly picked arugula from one of the prototype aquaponic plant beds (think plants floating in water and
bathed in artificial red and blue grow lights), Edel delineates The Plant's latest victory. “They have approved us for an upgrade to our generator!” Edel says happily. The upgrade Edel speaks of is to The Plant's soon to come hybrid methane/natural gas generator from a 250 kilowatt generator. According to Edel, this generator will more than power the facility while providing other secondary benefits to The Plant's tenants, such as delivering carbon dioxide (a byproduct of burning methane and natural gas) to the brewery. Furthermore once installed, the generator will produce more power than The Plant needs, which will allow for the sale of energy back into the grid. Edel notes that, “this will probably not make ComEd happy,” but on the flip side, “they'll definitely buy the renewable energy so they can look good.” In Edel's vision of the future, operations such as The Plant will not only be able to stick it to 'the man,' but they will be able to sell 'it' to him too. In comparison to wind power, a 500 kilowatt generator is only a third of what the standard 1 .5 megawatt turbine can potentially
produce. However, the difference between these two forms of power can be measured in orders of magnitude. As noted, wind turbines don't always spin. The generator, on the other hand, will be continuously fed its methane fuel from what is called a digestor, which will also be located on site. A digestor is exactly what the name implies; a giant stomach in the form of a rubber roofed pit. Into this pit will go organic material, such as waste from The Plant's indoor farms, the brewery and the baker, along with a steady supply of matter from a nearby fat rendering plant. Into this slurry is mixed special bacteria that will produce three marketable products:
A row of tilapia tanks at The Plant
liquid compost, solid compost, and methane. This gives The Plant a lot of leeway to meet its non-profit goal, and provides The Plant with essentially free materials for future landscaping plans. Wind turbines, it should be noted, cannot produce compost, or a power stream as consistent as the methane generator/digestor combination. I finish my day of volunteering and learning by picking and replanting aquaponic arugula, next to softly bubbling tanks of tilapia. I pick a sprig and place it in my mouth. It's the first garden vegetable I've had in months. Man does the alternative taste good.