VAN WERT — One more wind turbine is set to be built to the north of Van Wert, but like two others nearby, this one is going to increase the amount of green energy for one local company.
Cooper Farms has already jumped headlong into wind energy by putting up two turbines intended to provide more than half of the plant’s electrical usage.
“When we built the first two, we built them with the idea of supplying about 60 percent of our electric needs for our plant... and it did.” explained Cooper Farms CEO Jim Cooper. He went on to explain that in the two years it took between the initial study of using wind power and the time the turbines were on line, the firm expanded the Van Wert plant.
“So instead of producing 60 percent of the needs, it was down to around 50 percent of the needs, so that’s why we are in the process today of breaking ground for the third turbine which will take us up to around 75 percent of our production needs at the Van Wert plant,” he shared.