Kirkwood Community College announced it will be decommissioning its wind turbine in the spring of 2025. The college is working with contracted services to assess the necessary steps and costs associated with deconstructing the 417-foot-tall structure, which has been a landmark on the north side of the college’s main campus for over a decade.
Originally built in 2012, the 2.5 megawatt (MW) Clipper wind turbine was used as a training tool for the college’s former Energy Production and Distribution Technologies program, which closed in 2023 due to low enrollment. In addition to being used for instruction, the college set up a power purchase agreement to sell the energy produced by the turbine. Over its lifetime, the turbine has generated just over $2.2 million in revenue. That figure has fallen short of expectations, which was one of the reasons the college decided to decommission the unit.
In May of 2023, after numerous mechanical issues, the college worked with a contractor to park the turbine in place while administrators evaluated options for how to best move forward. The analysis revealed significant investments are necessary in order to repower the turbine. After considering the substantial financial commitment, in addition to the loss of in-house expertise with the closing of the Energy Production and Distribution Technologies program, the decision was made to start the decommissioning process. The college is currently working with vendors to begin deconstruction, which will include the sale of usable turbine parts to interested buyers.
According to Kirkwood Vice President of Operations Troy McQuillen, the decommissioning makes good financial sense and will free up financial resources for other sustainability initiatives.
“The turbine was once a great teaching tool and revenue generator for the college, but that’s just not the case anymore” said McQuillen. “With the academic program ending, asset depreciation and rising annual maintenance costs, continuing to maintain and operate the unit no longer makes financial sense. Kirkwood has always taken pride in responsibly managing public funds and resources, so decommissioning the turbine is the right decision. There are more cost-effective renewable energy options available to us that we will be able to utilize.”
The college recently completed a multi-year climate action plan which set a goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2040. To achieve this goal, the plan includes recommendations for using other renewable energy options, along with the numerous strategies already in place at the college.
“The climate action plan is a chance to really make an impact, both environmentally and financially,” said McQuillen. “Plus, we’ll be setting an example for others to follow, which is very exciting.”
