From Root River Energy's Fall 2010 Newsletter....
Root River Energy is happy to announce construction of a new meteorological tower, or “met tower”, in Mower County. The tower, which was installed in June 2010, is 60 meters high and will record wind speed and directional data within the Mower County area of the project. This data will allow the project’s developers to determine the best locations for turbines. Utilities and power companies generally require at least one year of wind data before they invest in a project, so met towers are a crucial part of planning a wind farm.
The Mower County met tower is the second met tower installed in Root River’s footprint. It joins an 80 meter tower that was installed in Fillmore County in 2008. Having both towers up and running is a big step forward because together they’ll provide a more detailed picture of wind conditions across the geographic range of the project. In addition, the Fillmore County tower’s 80 meter height closely matches the height of actual wind turbines, making its data highly accurate and not as dependent upon extrapolation to produce useful reports. By September, the Fillmore County met tower will have recorded two years of wind data. Every additional year of data results in a more accurate analysis of the “average” winds in the area and makes the project more attractive to potential financial partners and utility power purchasers.