I have heard that some of the components needed to construct solar panels are extremely rare & very hard to come by, making this a much less 'eco-friendly' choice for generating energy than we have heard.

Is this factual?

Thank you.

Bob: You may not be the right person to ask these questions. I have been able to find data regarding the nameplate capacity of the turbines but I have not been able to find data regarding the generated voltage output of the unit. I understand that most commercial scale wind farms in the United States use turbines with a nameplate capacity of 1.5 or 2.5 megawatts. I also understand that the unit generates direct voltage and that it is transformed to 60 cycles at the base of the unit that is fed into the grid. Can you tell me the what the generated direct voltage is and also the transformed voltage fed into the grid?

I just returned from South Dakota and there are numerous units in Minnesota especially along interstate 90 south of Rochester. I am a former manager of a rural electric cooperative and a stockholder of MG&E. Thank you for the information.

Bob's answer:
Most wind turbines generate at 600V or 690V. This voltage is usually transformed in a collection system to 25kV or 35kV. At the substation it would be transformed to a transmission voltage of 69kV, 115kV, 138kV, 161kV or 345kV. Thanks for your question.

What are the zoning considerations for distance of turbines to residential homes? There is mounting concern about the noise and vibration impact on humans, especially on sleep and headaches.

I am also interested on what impact the turbine placement has on raptor and bat populations. Has there been sufficient consideration on placement of turbines to minimize kill rates and disruption of nesting and migration of these populations?

Bob's Answer:
When MGE planned our wind farm, we placed the turbines at least 800 feet away from homes in order to minimize impacts on residents. MGE incorporated this setback guideline and others found in the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative publication, Permitting of Wind Energy Facilities.

Click here to read more information from the National Wind organization.

Much research has been done on the impact of wind turbines on bird and bat populations. Careful monitoring shows that MGE’s wind farm is having little impact on bird and bat populations. Click here to view a report.

Also, you can click here to watch this "Ask Bob" feature for more information on the impact of wind turbines on birds.

To learn more about wind turbines and health issues, click here to read a fact sheet from the American Wind Energy Association.

Thanks for your question!