Visitors on tour at the Barton Chapel Wind Farm, from left, Carolann Corado, Jack Soil and Water Conservation District clerk; Don Brandenberger, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board field representative; Chawn Jobe, Young County Soil and Water Conservation District clerk; Anna Fitzgerald, Rolling Plains Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts president; and Ronald Fitzgerald are hard-hat ready for an inside look with Plant Manager Bobby Clark. (MediaNews Service photo by Jana Lynn Rupe)
Directors tour Barton Chapel Wind Farm
by By Jana Lynn Rupe, MediaNews Serivce
(Posted 9/29/2009 03:51 pm)
Directors of the Rolling Plains Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts traded their Stetsons for hard hats as they toured the Barton Chapel Wind Farm on Kinder Mountain recently in Jack County.
The tour, sponsored by Iberdrola Renewables and the Jack Soil and Water Conservation District, hosted about 60 people for the tour and subsequent business meeting in Bryson.
Jack SWCD chapter president Anna Fitzgerald welcomed guests and introduced personnel from Iberdrola who would conduct the tour and answer questions.
Attendees boarded buses provided by Bryson Independent School District for the short 15-minute drive to nacelle No. 38.
Along the road, widened and improved by Gamesa crews during the early days of the wind farm construction, Jason Du Terroll, business developer for Iberdrola, pointed out the benefit to the county in terms of improved road conditions and conservation techniques implemented with the re-vegetation along roads used by the company for turbine maintenance and inspection.
The Barton Chapel Wind Farm was developed and constructed by Gamesa Energy and later purchased by Iberdrola Renewables. The wind farm, which is fully operational, has 60 turbines which are expected to supply more than 110,000 habitants in North Texas with energy each year.
Once at the site, participants gathered into smaller groups and were given additional information about wind generation, local climatic and weather issues and concentrated several discussions on the benefits of wind energy and environmental concerns of utmost importance to SWCDs throughout Texas.
Barton Chapel plant manager Bobby Clark and technical supervisor Billy Armstrong fielded questions on the more specific technical aspects of the local industry, while Iberdrola representatives Reed Armstrong and Du Terroll discussed the broader scope of wind generation globally.
Once again, the group boarded the buses for the return trip, during which a stop was made at the local offices of the ground personnel from Iberdrola and Barton Chapel. Clark gave a brief overview of the equipment and housing chambers visible from the road and described in detail the process of collection and distribution of electricity from this project.
Following the tour, guests were treated to a catered lunch and settled down for their regular business meeting.
