[Southsider2k12]

http://www.post-trib.com/news/1194670,windmill.article

Wind powers steel mill
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October 1, 2008
By Gitte Laasby Post-Tribune staff writer

GARY -- For the past year, 220 workers at ArcelorMittal's plate mill in Gary have been the best-kept secret in Northwest Indiana. To them, "green jobs" is more than a catch phrase in a presidential election campaign. It's food on the table every day.

Nearly a year ago to the day, the workers rolled their first slab of plate steel at the Gary mill formerly owned by U.S. Steel. ArcelorMittal spent $35 million to revamp and reopen the plant, allowing the company to meet increasing demand from the energy market. Much of the steel is used for windmills, and demand is growing.

"Plate used in construction of wind towers was one of the main market drivers for reopening the Gary mill," said Shelby Pixley, chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal Plate USA, via e-mail. "We sell plate to wind tower manufacturers and fabricators all over the country."

Today, the towers are going up across the middle part of the United States and demand is higher than ever.

The mill can produce plate up to 5 feet wide and 125 feet long.

The average wind mill contains 215 tons of steel. With a push for more renewable energy, demand for plate steel massively outpaces supply, creating a four-year backlog.

"The generation of renewable energy is one of the fastest-growing industries worldwide. In the United States, it's growing more than anywhere worldwide," said David Foster, executive director of the Blue-Green Alliance, a collaboration between the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club. "Steel is an absolutely integral material for the transition to a low-carbon economy."

Steel is also used in hybrid vehicles and other types of fuel-efficient cars; for large-diameter pipelines for natural gas; and for electricity transmission towers.

In 2004, the Energy Information Administration predicted that the United States would increase its 5,000-megawatt production of wind energy to 16,000 megawatts by 2024, Foster said.

"They said that amount would triple. In fact, in only two years, in 2006, we exceeded 16,000 megawatts. That gives you a sense of just how rapidly things are moving," he said.

According to the Energy Information Administration under the Department of Energy, wind-generated electricity increased by 45 percent between 2005 and 21 percent from 2006 to 2007 -- more than any other renewable source.

In 2007, renewable energy sources supplied 7 percent of America's total energy needs. Forty percent came from petroleum.

The Steelworkers are teaming up with environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and Michigan City-based Save the Dunes Council, to grow more green jobs in Northwest Indiana.

"If we don't take advantage of these opportunities, someone else in the world will," said Tom Anderson, executive director of Save the Dunes Council. "We're in a wonderful location. We make more steel than any other district in the United States. We have access to transportation. We have large amounts of energy and water available. This is the future. The time is now."

The coalition also wants to debunk the myth that people have to choose between jobs and the environment.

"We need to understand we should be good stewards of the environment and we should demand the best engineering and technology to be applied to protect the environment," said Jim Robinson, director of USW District 7. "We also need to understand our standard of living and our enjoyment of our lives depends on having a functioning economy. Somebody's got to make the steel if you want to have a car. We need to understand it's a phony choice. We can have both."

ArcelorMittal expects continued growth in 2009. The coalition wants to explore policy changes that could help fuel the green job trend.

For instance, tax incentives could spur investments into renewable energy.

About half of all states have passed renewable energy standards to mandate a certain percentage of electricity is produced by renewable sources.

And a so-called carbon tax could require coal-burning facilities to pay for the amount of pollution they release into the air.

"Sometimes we don't even realize it's growing in our back yard. That's why we want to find out how we can support more of these green jobs, whether we have to look at policy, a federal policy. Things the average person can do so we can have more of these types of jobs here in Northwest Indiana," Anderson said.

A report released earlier this month said Indiana could gain 43,353 "green" jobs from private and public investments in clean energy under a proposed two-year, $100 billion national program, which would offer tax credits and loan guarantees for businesses and direct public investment.

Contact Gitte Laasby at 648-2183 or glaasby@post-trib.com. Comment on this story at www.post-trib.com.

[Roger Kaputnik]

Think of how many places there is wind or some air current that can be harnessed: Air scoops on cars, rooftops, roadsides, and so on.

[Dave]

Think of how many places there is wind or some air current that can be harnessed: Air scoops on cars, rooftops, roadsides, and so on.

Bolding mine.

I remember interviewing an "inventor" back in the day when I was on a newspaper internship who came up with the idea of mounting windmills on cars. He just wasn't able to grasp the concepts of "wind resistance" and "drag". When I mentioned the Second Law of Thermodynamics (scroll down a couple of paragraphs in the link to "Dear Alex" for a succinct explanation of the 2nd Law, or here for something more academic), he just looked at me like I was speaking an unknown language. I just gave up on the guy, and had to explain to my editor that running the story would be a bad idea.

[ChickenCityRoller]

There are two wind mills in Beverly Shores, one that's old and beat up and another that's state of the art. The house with the trick one is actually for sale and from what I've been told, they're essentially off the grid. The initial overhead makes these things cost prohibitive but that's changing each day. Battery technology is moving very quickly so I think soon it'll be within my reach to plant one on my hill.
I went down to Indy a couple weeks ago on highway 421 to watch the MotoGP races. Along the Monon Tracks there were maybe forty cars with windmill blades on them, they're HUGE like over 100' long each.

[Ang]

I know who owns the house in BS that has the first windmill (the old beat up one. My dad used to paint that thing every year!). It is owned by a surgeon from M'ville. My dad used to be his property manager and I have spent a lot of time in that house. On windy days, the electric meter actually runs backward and sometimes he would get a check from NIPSCO.

It's very possible that house is on the market. Last time I was home, my dad told me that the doc is being indicted for some type of fraud involving hundreds of thousands of dollars and will probably end up in a federal prison.

My dad hasn't worked for him since '03 when my step-mom passed away.

[Southsider2k12]

On the topic of wind power in the area, we might want to consider hooking something up to many of the local politicians, MC could probably go off of the grid on the school board alone!

[ChickenCityRoller]

There are two wind mills in Beverly Shores, one that's old and beat up and another that's state of the art. The house with the trick one is actually for sale and from what I've been told, they're essentially off the grid. The initial overhead makes these things cost prohibitive but that's changing each day. Battery technology is moving very quickly so I think soon it'll be within my reach to plant one on my hill.
I went down to Indy a couple weeks ago on highway 421 to watch the MotoGP races. Along the Monon Tracks there were maybe forty cars with windmill blades on them, they're HUGE like over 100' long each.

The one that's for sale is the nice one further west just west of Reborah Plaza (Broadway). I think it's going for 1.3 Million! The blades on that windmill are carbon fiber and they're the second set of blades. The first set were quite a bit longer and the neighbors complained because you could hear it quite well when it was blowing, "cutting" the wind.

[ChickenCityRoller]

On the topic of wind power in the area, we might want to consider hooking something up to many of the local politicians, MC could probably go off of the grid on the school board alone!

Hahahah, I think it'd need to be some sort of modified heat pump designed to run off hot air.

[Ang]

The one that's for sale is the nice one further west just west of Reborah Plaza (Broadway). I think it's going for 1.3 Million! The blades on that windmill are carbon fiber and they're the second set of blades. The first set were quite a bit longer and the neighbors complained because you could hear it quite well when it was blowing, "cutting" the wind.

I know which one you're talking about. That guy had lots of trouble getting permission to put that one up, didn't he? IIRC, the town of BS finally agreed because of Doc Streeter's windmill.

[eric.hanke]

Anyone driving south on US 41 on their way to Terre Haute has driven through Benton County. Benton County is Indiana's largest wind producing county in the state.

I take the drive a couple of times per year for business. There must be several hundred Wind Turbines.

Here is a YouTube video of a local news article including an e-mail address to the Benton County Purdue University Extension partially involved with the project.

Benton County Indiana Wind Turbine YouTube Video

Eric Hanke