Sewer District To Tap Into Wind Power

Sewer District To Tap Into Wind Power
By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | April 09, 2008

FAIRFIELD - The local sewer district is on the road toward energy independence.

The first four steps of that journey will be installed this spring at the Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District's Chadbourne Road facility. The district is building four wind turbines on its land in hopes of replacing some of its gas and electricity purchases.

'Our ultimate goal is to control long-term costs for the district, and we think we can get there by diversifying our energy usage,' General Manager Kathy Hopkins said. 'If we have electricity, (gas cogeneration), wind and solar, then no matter what happens we should be relatively stable.'

The sewer district Board of Directors approved the wind turbines at its Feb. 12 meeting. The turbines serve the same purpose but are far smaller than the iconic turbines of the Montezuma Hills or Altamont Pass.

Equipped with 25-foot blades, each rotor stands atop a 100-foot tower, about the height of the cell phone towers in the area, Hopkins said.

See the complete story at the Daily Republic Online.