Thanks very much for responding quickly to my question on this; your answer was clear and complete. I am glad that I put in a little extra to support this program.

Where are the turbines located that are used by MG&E, and how is the location determined?

Bob's Answer:
Ann, here is a long answer to your short question.

Madison Gas and Electric gets electricity for Green Power Tomorrow from four wind farms in Wisconsin and Iowa:

• MGE’s Rosiere wind farm in Kewaunee County Wisconsin
• Iberdrola’s Northern Iowa Windpower II farm in Worth County Iowa
• Invenergy’s Forward Energy farm in Dodge and Fond du Lac Counties in Wisconsin
• FPL Energy’s Endeavor II Wind Energy Center in Osceola and Dickinson Counties in Iowa

MGE’s green power customers are also buying a small amount of electricity generated by solar panels owned by local homeowners and businesses. These Clean Power Partners receive a premium rate for this electricity which in turn helps build the local solar infrastructure.

In addition to the clean power available through Green Power Tomorrow, electricity from another new MGE-owned wind farm in Worth County Iowa is being used to satisfy the Wisconsin Renewable Portfolio Standard . This standard requires Wisconsin utilities to include a portion of renewable power in the regular electric mix provided to all customers.

The location of wind farms is determined by several factors.
• An important one is the average wind speed. The energy available is proportional to the cube of the wind speed. That means that doubling the wind speed results in eight times more available energy. Putting a turbine where the wind speed is high means you get much more electricity without additional costs.
• Another factor is environmental impacts. Turbines need to be sited to minimize impacts on birds and other animal species and far enough from human habitation to limit noise and other problems to nearby households.
• Large wind farms also need to be built near adequate electric transmission lines to enable transport of the power to where it is needed.
• Where economically feasible, MGE also puts a priority on getting at least some of the wind power from within Wisconsin to help build local infrastructure.
• Our customers have told us they value building local renewable energy infrastructure, so MGE also puts a priority on getting Wisconsin wind power when economically feasible.