Manufacturer partners with customers to build massive wind tower
by CanadianManufacturing.com
Lincoln Electric expects the 443-foot wind tower will save $500,000 each year
CLEVELAND, Ohio—A U.S. manufacturer is using wind energy to slash its operating costs by an expected $500,000 a year.
Lincoln Electric makes arc welding products, robotic arc welding systems, welding fume control systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment.
The company has finished building a $5.9-million wind tower on the grounds of its world headquarters and manufacturing campus in Euclid, Ohio, just east of downtown Cleveland.
The 443-feet tall tower includes a 2.5 megawatt turbine that’s expected to generate up to 10 per cent of the energy used for Lincoln Electric’s main plant.
The tower, one of the largest in North America, contains 65 tons of reinforced steel rebar in the base and is capable of producing enough energy for 686 homes.
The project evolved out of a strategic partnership between Lincoln Electric and the Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force, a multi-stakeholder organization for renewable energy in Northeast Ohio.
Lincoln Electric chose German turbine manufacturer Kenersys to develop the power generation components and Katana Summit, in Columbus, Neb., to manufacture its segments. The turbine’s three glass fiber reinforced polymer blades were produced in Poland by LM Windpower.
A portion of funding for the project came from municipal and federal funding programs.
