Forward Wind Energy Center

The Forward Wind Energy Center is a 137.85 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Dodge and Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin near the village of Brownsville. "Forward" is the state's motto. The facility is sited in close proximity to the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge and the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area which provide nesting areas for waterfowl and a resting area for large numbers of migratory birds.[1]

Forward Wind Energy Center
Forward Wind Energy Center as viewed from Wisconsin Highway 49 near Brownsville, Wisconsin
CountryUnited States
Locationnear Brownsville, Wisconsin
Coordinates43°36′58″N 88°30′44″W
StatusOperational
Construction began2007
Commission date2008
Owner(s)Wisconsin Public Service (44.6%)
Wisconsin Power & Light (42.6%)
Madison Gas and Electric (12.8%)
Wind farm
TypeOnshore
Power generation
Units operational86 turbines
Make and modelGE 1.6sle 1.6 MW
GE 1.85sle 1.85 MW
Nameplate capacity137.85 MW
Capacity factor27.7% (average 2009-2017)
Annual net output335 GW·h
Turbines of the farm, taken in 2014

Details

The project was developed by Invenergy and initially proposed in 2004 to be a 200 MW facility with 133 wind turbines. Despite perceived initial support, there grew significant controversy in the siting selection related to the wildlife, visual, and other impacts.[2] These led to further environmental studies, offers of additional monetary compensation, organized opposition, and delays due to legal action. Permitting from an Air Route Surveillance Radar facility to the south also slowed the project.[3] The experience led some communities in the region to pass moratoria on further development, some of which have been challenged by state agencies.[4]

The project was eventually approved to begin construction in 2007.[5] Brownsville-based Michels Corporation provided EPC services.[6] Completed in 2008, the downsized facility includes 85 General Electric SLE 1.6 MW wind turbines and a single GE SLE 1.85 MW turbine.[1] It is setback two-miles from the Horicon Marsh located to the west.[7] Two smaller wind farms named "Cedar Ridge" (68 MW) and "Butler Ridge" (45 MW), as well as the 145 MW Blue Sky Green Field Wind Energy Center, came online within about the same year.[8][9]

Followup information sessions and academic studies on the environmental and cultural impacts of the project have been pursued. Macalester College has documented the controversy surrounding the project and studied its implications.[4] At the invitation of the Friends of the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in 2010, the conservation chair of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology further addressed local concerns on the effects of wind turbines on wildlife.[10] A two-year study of bird and bat mortality at the Forward Wind facility was completed by University of Wisconsin researchers for the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, with a report published in August 2011. Inline with similar studies elsewhere, it showed a relatively larger number of bat fatalities and a lesser number of added bird deaths.[11]

Electricity production
Forward Wind Electricity Generation (MW·h)[12]
YearTotal Annual MW·h
2008 163,513*
2009 307,217
2010 342,116
2011 341,934
2012 351,243
2013 337,107
2014 351,039
2015 349,376
2016 319,889
2017 313,238
Average (years 2009-2017) --->334,795

* partial year of operation

See also

References
  1. "Fact Sheet - Forward Wind Park" (PDF). Wisconsin Public Service Corporation. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  2. "Wind Energy Landscapes - Forward Wind". Macalester College. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  3. Thomas Content (March 23, 2006). "Horicon wind farm foes find unlikely ally in U.S. Air Force". Milwaukee Journal.
  4. "Forward Wind - Details". Macalester College. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  5. "Invenergy's Forward Energy Wind Project In Wisconsin to Proceed with Construction". Invenergy. July 25, 2007.
  6. "Michels History". Michels Corporation. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  7. "PSC approves wind farm near Horicon Marsh". Electric Light & Power. July 11, 2005.
  8. "Cedar Ridge Wind Farm". openei.org. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  9. "Butler Ridge Wind Farm". openei.org. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  10. Meagan Sheridan (May 14, 2010). "Ornithologist discusses the effect of wind turbines on birds". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen.
  11. "Assessing Bird and Bat Mortality at the Forward Energy Center". Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. August 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  12. "Forward Wind, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
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