Reaching the summit for wind energy!

Hello Everyone!

This week I had the amazing opportunity to climb the Traverse City Light & Power Wind Turbine!

Follow the journey together with the amazing Jessica Wheaton, Marketing & Community Relations Coordinator for TCLP as we climb to the summit! Unfortunately it was really foggy outside the last few days, so I wasn't able to see the bay, but still an amazing view nonetheless.   

View from the top

Stats:

• Traverse City Light & Power 600 KW Wind Turbine
• Installed in June 1996 at a cost of $650,000
• Blades and Nacelle were made in Denmark and the Tower was made in Texas
• Rotor/blade weight is 19,000 lbs
• Nacelle (compartment at the top with all the engine parts) weighs 381,000 lbs

At the time of installation, the turbine was the largest in the US and also the first utility grade turbine installed in Michigan! (yay for TC)

Control Panel

Jessica Wheaton - TCLP

This bad lad generates enough electricity to power 110 homes annually. Back in the day, TCLP used a "Green Rate" to pay for the installation of turbine which made it the first utility company to offer a Green Rate, which is now available through hundreds of other utility companies worldwide.
 

The blades are an amazing 144 ft wide and from Tower to Hub, that little box thingy on the top is 160 ft. The blades start at 10 mph and provide full power of electricity at 32 mph. If the blades exceed 55 mph, they will power down for safety reasons.

   
    

The base of the wind turbine is an incredible 40 foot wide, 3.5 feet thick and over 180 yards of concrete were used. They also added in 7 tons of reinforcing steel just in case... In 2008, Michigan legislature passed a law requiring all electric utilities to have a least 10% of their generation from a renewable source (wind, solar, landfill gas, biomass) by 2015. TCLP nailed this mandate in 2011, four years before it was required.

TCLP has now started buying energy from five 2-megawatt wind turbines located near McBain. These turbines dwarf the one that I climbed, coming in at a towering 328 feet with blades 303 feet in diameter, sweeping a total of 72, 334 sq feet. These five wind turbines generate enough electricity to power 4,404 homes annually!

Me climbing the tower!

Ladder to the Nacelle

Statistical data provided by Traverse City Light & Power

Dear Graduate...

Dear graduates,

I hope you had a wonderful summer! I'm sure your post-grad summer life was just the best- no school work or exams to worry about, plenty of time to see your friends and hit up the beach, etc. However, now it is fall...and reality is setting in.

You need to find a career. You need to settle down in a city where you will actually have an opportunity to grow in your career path, but also where you can be among like-minded younger individuals. You are ready to leave your college-lifestyle behind, but still want to move somewhere that has a variety of culture and delicious (but still affordable) meals. You need somewhere near the beach, near a decent mall, and with housing options available at a decent price.

Well, let me explain something to you: I understand. I've been in your shoes...I just found my way a little sooner than most. I too was worried that I would end up living somewhere that could not offer me a chance to grow in my career path (or a career path that I enjoyed at all). I had no idea how to find housing anywhere that didn't offer a plethora of apartments or whether or not I would meet people my age who were, like me, working to achieve there goals.

Then I ended up in Traverse City. From one graduate to another, this is where you want to be. You may be saying to yourself "What?! Traverse City? A small city in Northern Michigan...no way. I want to go to Chicago or somewhere that will actually have career options."

Well graduate, Traverse City is thriving. There are so many different career paths available and an abundance of things to do, delicious (and yes...even affordable) meals to enjoy, nightlife, beaches, ski resorts and wineries...and it is all constantly improving and growing. Every day I hear about a new event space opening or a restaurant or microbrewery headed my way. Not only that, we have jobs available for you. Not just jobs that pay the bills...a whole variety of job options that actually represent the career choice you're interested in.

Do me a favor. Take the time to head over to the Traverse City Chamber website. Check out the Job Portal. Shoot- even ask me some questions! I would be more than happy to provide answers to your questions or address your concerns. Just know that Traverse City is a wonderful place to head to after graduation.

You won't regret it. Believe me- I sure didn't.

Sincerely,
Meaghan

On Thin Ice...Literally.

Before I update you on my current, sunny, busy Traverse City summer, I should bring you back to the chillier months of winter and let you in on a little secret:

The hardest part about moving to the North is not having to get used to thicker socks, it's not having to adjust to a post-college life or even leaving behind all of your friends and family...it's driving in the snow.

I will be the first to admit that I'm not the best driver. While I am a safe driver, I tend to be impatient and may have a slight case of road rage when the individual in front of me forgoes using his or her blinker. However, driving in snow...and having to learn to do so at the age of 22...is terrifying. In fact, my first attempt resulted in me drifting into an intersection and stopping traffic because the term "pump your brakes" was not yet a part of my vocabulary.

Nonetheless, I survived and became a much more cautious and patient driver in the process (which is extremely convenient since I have come to realize that there is a 90% chance that driving down Front Street during the National Cherry Festival will take me at least 20 minutes instead of the usual 3).

Which leads me to the point of this blog post: Acclimating to a new life in a brand new town/state/etc. is a process. At first, you feel completely out of your element. After a couple weeks, you understand the best way to scrape the ice off of your windshield and you feel a little better. True, there are bound to be roadblocks (that lovely 48 hour snowstorm, for example. I have never been so thankful for candlelight and dry cereal before), but once you get through them, you're right back on the path you were taking in the first place.

This is the snowstorm I'm referring to...Ick.

I'm not trying to say that I'm completely settled and consider myself to be a "local," but I'm well on my way. Now that it's summer and I'm back in my short-sleeved shirt element, I feel a little more like myself. Having the chance to attend so many events and networking opportunities (In fact, I'll be attending the Young Professionals Social Event at the National Cherry Festival Beer and Wine Garden tonight if you want to stop by and say hello!) makes me positive that this amazing, thriving city is where I'm meant to be.

Just like turning on your car in winter and letting it run for a minute to help defrost your windows, it takes a while to warm up to things. I'm getting there...and I'm going to show snow-driving whose boss this upcoming winter.