An undeniable benefits of using wind turbines to generate electricity is the jobs these 300

foot tal l behemoths create. As with al l things mechanical, these giant structures require up keep,

which in turn requires people such as Aaron Smith to cl imb the towers and maintain the

mechanisms that keep the power flowing. When asked whether he thought that wind farms are

the future, and if they are worth future investment, he responded with an immediate, “Definitely. ”

While this reaction is to be expected from an individual whose livel ihood depends on these

machines, Aaron's reasoning for wanting more of America's energy to come from wind turbines

is sound.

Smith got his start in the field when he began attending Sauk Valley Community College in

Dixon in 2009. Three semesters and one internship later and Smith found himself working for the

Suzlon energy corporation, which operates turbine fields l iteral ly the world over, including the Big

Sky Project in Ohio, I l . The 11 8 turbine, 240 megawatt wind farm, located on the border of Lee

and Bureau County is were Smith currently works.

However, according to Smith, the training he received at school only goes so far.

“Most of what I do,” he says, “I learned out there, not in school. ”

This may make it sound as if school was unnecessary, but Smith concedes that the main

purpose of the program is to, “help get my foot in the door to get a job.” In this economy, there

seems to be nothing more important, than simply getting a leg up.

However, in the rapidly growing wind industry, one might not need a leg up so much as

courage.

Courage that is, to cl imb the 300 foot towers every day to keep them clean and maintained.

According to Smith, if one is able to get past the daunting heights of the turbines, feels

competent enough to operate in close proximity to high voltage electronics, and can use a rag,

then wind energy is the field to get into.

As Smith bluntly puts it, “honestly, I 'd say 50 percent of my job is cleaning. They don't tel l you

that when you go to wind turbine school that you'l l be using a rag. There's a lot of moving parts

up there and grease, and you got to keep it clean.”

And keep it clean he does, day in and day out, cl imbing the towers with the 1 3 other men in

his crew that clean and maintain the 11 8 turbines that make up Ohio's Big Sky turbine field.

Thirteen men for this size of turbine field is about average, but according to Smith, Suzlon is in

search of a few more employees to help ease the current crews workload that sees Smith and

his coworkers working 1 0 hour days. While the work may be difficult, and indeed terrifying, it

does not come without compensation, in this case in the form of both wages and health care

benefits.

Smith has been working through Suzlon through a temp agency, but wil l soon be an official

Suzlon employee.

“I get hired on next week,” Smith says, “and once I get hired on, my benefits include health

insurance, dental insurance and vision insurance and all my premiums are paid. I don't pay

anything out of my check for that. ”

This sort of benefits package is no joke in an economy that rarely affords an industry to offer

any kind of health care, let alone a Cadil lac plan such as this. However, excellent health care

should be expected from a job that involves so much immediate danger. But there is no reward

without risk, and in at least one man's eyes, this risk is worth the reward of having a potential ly

l ifelong career in the rapidly growing industry of wind energy.

A Turbine Story...

Slide shoes on. Stretch to the left, then right. Raise my hands high into

the sky and then back down to grab the ground. After a few more stretches I

felt l imber and ready to go. One foot fel l in front of the other and I was

jogging down my usual route. Everything about this time out was the

same as every other run I 've gone on, except that I am barefoot,

well nearly.

Every other time I 've headed down the three miles of

abrasive chip and tar layered over rol l ing country hil ls that

constitutes my route, I have been equipped with a pair of cross

trainers (an all purpose athletic shoe), shorts and a t-shirt. For

this run I kept the shorts and tee, but lost the shoes.

Instead of sl iding into my regular shoes, I put on foot-wear

that look l ike ruggedized toe socks. The appropriately named

'The tree at the crossroads which marks my routes halfway point'

Vibram Fivefingers KSO (Keep Stuff Out), are composed of a thin rubber sole, a spot for each toe,

nylon that wraps around the top of the foot and a Velcro strap that holds everything together. The

most accurate description in terms of both look and feel, is that they are l ike gloves for your feet.

Vibram footwear currently holds a unique place in the running world. On the verge of being

a trend, runners and trainers are adopting the mindset that wearing traditional athletic shoes is not

always a necessity. Everyone from more casual runners such as myself, al l the way up to

individuals that tackle what are known as ultra-marathons (races ranging from 27 miles up to 1 00

plus miles), are choosing to do so in minimalist footwear, or even barefoot.

While I wasn't going for 1 00 miles, three miles is not insignificant for me, especial ly

with unproven footwear. The first mile went down easy, as it should because of its

downhil l grade. My legs moved easily, but in a completely different way than they ever

had before. My stride length had been shortened considerably and as a result I took

more, but quicker steps.

Another form difference I noticed with the barefoot shoes was the way my foot

struck the ground. In cross trainers, I would plant my heel first, toes next and 'pul l '

myself forward. This was not the case at al l on this run. My form now became: land on

the ball of my foot and toes, use my calf muscle to lower my heel unti l i t almost

brushed the ground, then snap my foot downward to press off the ground.

In a study done by Harvard University's Skeletal Biology Lab on

barefoot running, using this pattern of forefoot strikes not only leads to,

“lower impact forces,” but can also lead to, “lower rates of injury.” But in the same study, they also

caution to, “stretch your calves and hamstrings careful ly and regularly as you make the transition.”

As I began to cl imb the most brutal hi l l of the run, my calves started to strain and ache. By

the time I reached the top of the 300 odd yard incl ine, my muscles were screaming and the time

between my breaths had become shorter. The enjoyable discomfort of running had final ly set in,

and I continued on to the tree at the crossroads which marks my routes halfway point.

I t was at this point I started to notice new things about the path I have been running for

several years. For instance, I could feel the difference between the rough, but sol id asphalt road

as compared to the soft spikiness of the narrow gravel shoulder. This sensation was one that had

been total ly lost on me with traditional cross-trainers.

I tapped the tree at the corner with my palm and turned around immediately. Only a mile

and a half to go. Coasting back down the hil l that had been such a pain to cl imb, I stretched out a

bit and hit the bottom in no time. There I switched my breathing pattern and prepared for another

long incl ine. Angling around a curve in the road, the asphalt began to gradually rise beneath my

feet. Again, my calves were screaming at me.

At this point I was moving slower than I usual, the internal timer I have set from repeatedly

traveling this route tel ls me that I am off by a lot, but this is okay. As I sprint out my finish, I feel

good. Not exhausted, not too sore, just good. After a few stretches and a brief cool down walk, the

glove-shoes are off, and I am headed for a drink and a shower. I had no way of knowing at the

time, but the shoes and the form stuck. I got over the calf soreness after a couple of weeks, and

have never felt better about running. At least for now, I am sold on the minimalist method.

'Coasting back down the hil l . . . '

Arugula, Kale, and other vegetables growing in a prototype aquaponic bed

I f wind energy is the alternative, then The

Plant Chicago is the alternative to the

alternative. Wind energy receives a lot of

attention in I l l inois, but while massive turbine

instal lation's such as the 21 7 megawatt

Lee/DeKalb wind farm, or the 240 megawatt

Big Sky farm in Ohio, work well when spread

over thousands of acres of countryside, this is

not possible in urban environments. Even in

the windy city, wind just isn't enough. This was

made evident within the first five minutes of

walking into The Plant.

Located on 1 400 W. 46th St. , The Plant is

neighbor to Testa Inc. , a manufacturing firm

that has one of the 300 foot tal l turbines

instal led on their property.

“I think that's the first time I 've ever seen it

spinning,” The Plant volunteer Micah Ross

notes dryly.

This sentiment is echoed by John Edel, the

visionary behind The Plant, Bubby Llc. , and

Chicago Sustainable Manufacturing Center,

whom I met over a lunch of taco's in The

Plant's break room.

“I t just doesn't work in the city l ike it does in

the country,” says Edel.

From here Edel jumps off into the

intricacies of how The Plant wil l be powered.

I f windmil ls that turn out hundreds of

megawatt's worth of power are wild, then

Edel's plan for The Plant, is truly from another

planet.

The Plant, an approximately 45,000 square

foot former pork processing facil ity that is

being converted by Edel and a handful of

volunteers into a cutting edge business

incubation facil ity. Once finished, The Plant wil l

house multiple indoor urban farms that grow

aquaponic vegetables and raise ti lapia,

alongside a brewery, a bakery, and a

laboratory that grows mushrooms. And this is

just the beginning, Edel hopes that the seeds

planted by these initial businesses wil l attract

other environmental ly minded operations.

Over a lunch of tacos and freshly picked

arugula from one of the prototype aquaponic

plant beds (think plants floating in water and

bathed in artificial red and blue grow lights),

Edel del ineates The Plant's latest victory.

“They have approved us for an upgrade to

our generator!” Edel says happily.

The upgrade Edel speaks of is to The

Plant's soon to come hybrid methane/natural

gas generator from a 250 kilowatt generator.

According to Edel, this generator wil l more

than power the facil ity while providing other

secondary benefits to The Plant's tenants,

such as delivering carbon dioxide (a byproduct

of burning methane and natural gas) to the

brewery. Furthermore once instal led, the

generator wil l produce more power than The

Plant needs, which wil l al low for the sale of

energy back into the grid.

Edel notes that, “this wil l probably not

make ComEd happy,” but on the fl ip side,

“they'l l definitely buy the renewable energy so

they can look good.”

In Edel's vision of the future, operations

such as The Plant wil l not only be able to stick

it to 'the man, ' but they wil l be able to sell 'i t' to

him too.

In comparison to wind power, a 500

kilowatt generator is only a third of what the

standard 1 .5 megawatt turbine can potential ly

produce. However, the difference between

these two forms of power can be measured in

orders of magnitude. As noted, wind turbines

don't always spin. The generator, on the other

hand, wil l be continuously fed its methane fuel

from what is cal led a digestor, which wil l also

be located on site.

A digestor is exactly what the name

implies; a giant stomach in the form of a rubber

roofed pit. Into this pit wil l go organic material ,

such as waste from The Plant's indoor farms,

the brewery and the baker, along with a steady

supply of matter from a nearby fat rendering

plant. Into this slurry is mixed special bacteria

that wil l produce three marketable products:

l iquid compost, sol id compost, and methane.

This gives The Plant a lot of leeway to meet its

non-profit goal, and provides The Plant with

essential ly free materials for future landscaping

plans. Wind turbines, it should be noted,

cannot produce compost, or a power stream as

consistent as the methane generator/digestor

combination.

I finish my day of volunteering and learning

by picking and replanting aquaponic arugula,

next to softly bubbling tanks of ti lapia. I pick a

sprig and place it in my mouth. I t's the first

garden vegetable I 've had in months. Man

does the alternative taste good.

A row of ti lapia tanks at The Plant