Wind turbine or the Foshay Tower: Which is taller?

Posted at 10:51 AM on July 22, 2010 by Bob Ingrassia (2 Comments)
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

A rendering of Goodhue Wind turbines from a vantage point in Goodhue. (Image courtesy HDR Engineering and Goodhue Wind)

Residents and public officials in Goodhue County took a detailed look this week at plans for a big wind farm -- including the size, number and locations of the proposed turbines.

Goodhue Wind unveiled a site plan for 50 wind turbines that would be spread over 32,000 acres in southeast Minnesota. The turbines would generate 78 megawatts of electricity.

The turbines would be about 400 feet tall. Some residents have expressed concerns about the impact of the turbines, saying they fear the structures will dominate the landscape and create a lot of noise.

Officials in Zumbrota and Goodhue also say the towers will hem in their cities, stunting their plans for business and residential growth.

No question the turbines are tall structures. Here's a look at how they'd compare with notable Minnesota landmarks, including the IDS Tower, the Foshay Tower, the State Fair Space Tower and the Minnesota State Capitol. This chart isn't to perfect scale, but it gives you an idea of the relative heights.

MPR graphic by Steve Mullis

Comments (2)

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Posted by derek | July 22, 2010 1:08 PM

The state should allow these small communities to make their own rulings on how close these towers are to peoples homes. These law makers wouldn't like a 400 foot wind turbine 150 feet from their hose so why try to over throw the Goodhue county ruling just so they can meet an arbitray 25% of green energy need. Why can't these companies find less populated areas to place these wind towers and less rich of farm land to place them?

Posted by Marie Buchholtz | October 21, 2010 9:46 AM