Pigeon Creek Wind Turbine

The First Utility-Scale Wind Turbine in Adams County

South of Quincy Regional Airport, along 1700E (Plainville Blacktop), Adams Electric Cooperative’s 900kW Pigeon Creek Wind Turbine reaches into the sky. The landmark is 246 feet tall (335 feet counting the blade).

The turbine was manufactured by Emergya Wind Technologies (EWT). Each blade weighs about 3,000 pounds and attaches to a 20,000 pound hub. The hub is attached to a generator weighing 69,000 pounds.

The Co-op’s wind turbine is a direct drive unit, meaning the three 89-foot blades will drive the generator. The blades start producing electricity in winds as light as six miles per hour and reach full capacity in winds starting at 31 miles per hour.

The turbine will supply approximately 2.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. That is enough power for about 200-300 homes.

The installed cost of the wind turbine was approximately $2 million. The Cooperative secured $1.5 million in Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) which is an interest-free loan for financing renewable energy projects. The Cooperative also received grants for the Adams County project: $150,000 from Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF) and $250,000 from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).