Rawlins Field Office
| Contacts: | Shelley Gregory | |||
| 307-315-0612 |
BLM Rawlins Field Office Wind Turbine Fully Commissioned
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rawlins Field Office (RFO) has fully commissioned its second wind turbine which was installed in December 2010 adjacent to the existing turbine west of the National Guard Armory in Rawlins, Wyo.
The new wind turbine is 120 feet high with blades 70 feet in diameter, the same height as the existing turbine but twice as wide. It is rated at 100 kilowatts (kW) with an estimated output of 300,000 kW hours per year. The RFO uses approximately 500,000 kW hours per year; with current rates at 6.62 cents per kW hour, the new turbine will result in an annual savings of nearly $20,000 per year.
Rawlins Field Manager Dennis Carpenter states, “By investing in renewable energy for the long-term, the field office will achieve energy independence and save taxpayer dollars.”
The RFO building attained “gold” status under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program for its energy efficiency and use of renewable energy; however, the first turbine has faced numerous reliability issues and has been inoperable for approximately one-third of the time since its installation in July 2006. The second turbine is better designed for the winds experienced in Rawlins and will provide a more reliable source of energy for the RFO.
A planned informational kiosk at the RFO will eventually provide real-time turbine energy production data.
For more information, please contact Pam Murdoch at 307-328-4215 or pmurdock@blm.gov.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
Rawlins Field Office 1300 North Third Street Rawlins WY 82301