After more than 10 years of planning, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s new 1.5-megawatt wind turbine was assembled last weekend.

The components were lifted by a giant crane and put into place over the weekend. Approximately 10 days will be required for testing and commissioning the wind turbine. Tribal leaders expect the turbine to be operational by mid-October.

At 386 feet from the foundation to the tip of a blade fully extended vertically, the wind turbine is the equivalent of a 38-story building. It will operate around the clock throughout the year, anytime the wind is blowing. The single turbine will supply enough energy for all of the reservation’s residential energy demand. It is expected to produce .5 megawatt per year since wind does not blow all of the time in this area.

The wind turbine was made in Changzhou, China and shipped over a seven-week voyage first to Shanghai and then to Houston, Texas, where it was loaded onto trucks for its land journey.

The manufacturer, Changzhou Railcar Propulsion Engineering Research and Development Center, was selected because it provided the most economical and fastest way for the tribe to obtain a unit. A team of four engineers traveled to the reservation from China for the assembly, testing and commissioning of the wind turbine.

The $1.8 million wind turbine has a payback period of about 15 years and a life expectancy of 30 years.

Ground site preparation was completed in the summer, when the foundation ring was installed and buried underground in August. It was later covered with sod. Burial of the foundation 12 feet deep was necessary to provide adequate support. Federal aviation requirements due to the nearby Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie mandated the maximum height at the tip of the blade at 1,340 feet above sea level. The location in a small valley at the pow wow grounds helped to meet that requirement.

Energy created by the turbine will be metered as it enters the nearby Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative substation, which provides electricity to the reservation and the surrounding area. The generated energy will be offset against tribal energy costs. Minnesota Valley Electric installed two transformers and a meter/controller to get the power matched to the substation needs.

Wind energy is a low-cost, emerging renewable energy resource that does not contribute to global warming. The only pollution produced by a wind turbine comes during the manufacturing and transport process.

The turbine is expected to have no negative impacts and will sound like an air conditioner running outside a home.

Minnesota is the third-largest producer of wind energy in the nation, behind Texas and California.