Kirkwood board approves wind turbine bid

CEDAR RAPIDS -- A new wind turbine at Kirkwood Community College will proceed on schedule, after the Kirkwood board of trustees Thursday approved the construction bid on the project.

The Kirkwood board approved the $1.19 million bid from Acterra Group of Marion. That cost covers the construction portion of the project, which builds the concrete foundation and erects the 2.5 megawatt turbine. Acterra was the low bid of the three bidders on the project, which has a total cost of about $5 million.

Last month the Kirkwood board delayed a vote on the construction bid, due to a problem with the original turbine model the college planned to buy from Clipper Windpower in Cedar Rapids. Kirkwood reached agreement to buy a different model of turbine, a C96, that is less efficient than the original model the school intended to buy, officials said.

"Hopefully we can keep on track and have it done in March," Tom Kaldenberg, Kirkwood executive director of facilities, said.