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O.K., let's skip the wisecracks about the potentially humorous combination of Rod Goeman and wind power -- Mr. Goeman has a good idea! Rod and his wife Cheryl have sent a very interesting wind power proposal to the City of Madison:
August 5, 2008
Dear Mayor Hexom and Commissioners;*
My wife, Cheryl and I are interested in participating in wind power generation on our property which is located on the highest point of Lake Madison, between Johnson's Point Road and 459th Street on Highway 34, four miles easy of Madison.
With utility cooperatives exploring reliable green methods to create and distribute affordable electricity, we would like to somehow offer a portion of our 42 acres as a potential site to partner for the development of wind power turbines that would benefit the City of Madison and lower your costs.
If the City is interested in exploring wind-power for Madison, we would welcome a conversation to determine if our location would work. The wind potential of our location is premier, located next to Highway 34 and at the highest point on Lake Madison. It is also close to your generator transmission lines.
Thanks for considering the idea. If you have an interest or suggestions, please call me anytime.
Sincerely,
Rod and Cheryl Goeman
[see Madison City Commission agenda packet -- PDF alert! -- August 11 regular meeting, p. 4]
Heck of an idea, Rod! And well-timed, too: the city commission just demonstrated its progressive character by pledging $12,500 (with the LAIC expected to match that amount) to support the creation of a new I-29 economic development consortium with Brookings and other forward-looking communities. Looking into creating a locally owned and operated wind farm to power local homes and businesses and lower local energy costs would be another good project for the city to invest in. Consider also the image value: folks coming from I-29 to Madison would be greeted by the sight of windmills on Lake Madison along Highway 34. Talk about a welcome sign!
So what do you think: is it time for Madison to upgrade its power plant with wind capacity? And even if Madison has all the juice it needs, might a Goeman Wind Farm make Lake Madison the first energy self-sufficient community in South Dakota? Let's think big!
*I reproduce the letter verbatim and verpunctuatim, but please note: business letter salutations should end with a colon (:), not a semicolon (;).
I like the idea of windmills myself. But apparently they are not cost efficient and have to be subsidized. What good does this do? I would prefer small personal windmills that people could use for their own personal use, like the kind a neighbor here evidently had before electricity made it here to the boonies years ago.
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