By Bethany K. Warner
If the almost 100 pinwheels planted Friday morning in the
ground of Opera House Square had been full-scale wind turbines, half of Oshkosh
could have gotten all the electric power it needed.
The pinwheels were part of a demonstration by Wisconsin
Environment, a state-level, non-partisan environmental advocacy group, that is
calling on local residents to encourage federal support of a 20 percent
renewable energy by 2020 standard.
“Clean energy is a homerun for our country, Wisconsin and
this area because of the wind potential,” said Lauren Joy, a field organizer
with Wisconsin Environment.
Joy and other demonstrators struggled with their pinwheel
demo because the wind in Opera House Square was too strong Friday, pushing some
pinwheels over. If all 200 had been
displayed, it was intended to show how many wind turbines would be needed to
power the entire city.
“This is domestic clean energy and we should be harnessing
that and we’re sort of silly for not harnessing it,” said Jenny Eigenberger, an
electrical apprenticeship instructor at Lakeshore Technical College.
Bob Hernke, a spokesman for Wisconsin Public Service, said
Oshkosh is not the best-suited location for wind power, but that other
renewable options would work in this area.
Wind power works better along lakeshores, ridges and the kettle moraines
in the state, Hernke said.
Photovoltaic power, geothermal power and solar thermal
options are all possible in this area.
Hernke said WPS is currently working with the University of
Wisconsin-Oshkosh to explore renewable energy options that could be built into the
school’s proposed new academic building.
In addition to some institutions like the university working
to use more renewable energy, the demonstration’s organizers called on local
residents to contact their legislators to urge more support of renewable energy
standards.
“It’s renewable, it’s clean, it’s domestic and we need to
get it started,” Eigenberger said.
