Northern Illinois jail hopes to use wind turbine for power

FREEPORT, Ill. (AP) - Officials at one northern Illinois county jail hope to install a 120-foot wind turbine in an effort to cut electricity costs by 40 to 70 percent.

The (Freeport) Journal-Standard reports (http://bit.ly/1X8Iy8N ) that Stephenson County Sheriff Dave Snyders and jail administrator Dean Schroeder have partnered with Highland Community College's Wind Turbine Technology department on the project. An instructor obtained a donated wind turbine after a two-year study found it's consistently windy at the jail.

About $30,000 is needed to erect the tower. The county and college hope to pay for that with grant money.

The sheriff says the jail also is installing more cost-efficient lights and looking at solar panels and motion-triggered lights.

The jail spends about $108,000 annually on electricity. Officials say the turbine could save $65,000 a year.

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Information from: The Journal-Standard, http://www.journalstandard.com/jshome.taf