SCA Adding Wind Power to Solar Power

Print this article | Send to Colleague

When the 40th Earth Day dawns on April 22, SCA Tissue North America (Philadelphia, Pa., USA) will have added wind power to the solar power that is generating green electricity at its Service Excellence Center (SEC) in the town of Menasha, Wis. SCA Tissue is erecting four wind turbine towers on the grounds of its offices on McMahon Drive. Footings for the 30-meter towers were placed in early December and the four 20-KW turbines are expected to be generating electricity by this spring.

Each turbine has three 15-ft blades and together the four turbines will produce 100 to 125 MW-hours per year, enough electricity to power 10 homes, said Mike Dillon, SCA Tissue Manager, Environmental and Risk Management. The towers are being erected between the building and the recreational trail that runs parallel to Highway 10.

Once the turbines are operating, SCA Tissue will become eligible to receive a U.S. Department of Energy performance grant that could pay for up to a third of the project's $280,000 cost. Based on the projected electricity from the turbines and on SCA continuing to meet its energy conservation goals, the wind turbine project will have a payback period of seven years or less, Dillon said.

Wind turbine site assessments already have been conducted at SCA Tissue's converting plant in Neenah and its paper mill in Menasha. Those assessments show both sites are good candidates for wind turbines of their own.

In recent years, the SEC building and grounds on McMahon Drive have served as a learning laboratory for SCA Tissue in exploring environmental initiatives:

• In February 2008, SCA Tissue installed 115 solar panels on the SEC. The photovoltaic system is generating electricity at the rate of 26 to 27 MW-hours per year. The system was originally expected to have a payback of nine years but now is on track for a seven-year payback period.
• In the fall of 2008, the company partnered with its neighbor, McMahon Engineer Architects, to begin a three-year prairie restoration project along the recreational trail that runs through their adjoining properties. The grasses, with their roots of up to eight feet, act as a biofiltration and conduit system that helps replenish the groundwater naturally.
• Last month, SCA Tissue kicked off a storm water filtration project in conjunction with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey along with its neighbors on McMahon Drive, McMahon and Miron Construction. The project, which could have national ramifications on storm water treatment, is quantifying the use of bioretention systems to filter runoff naturally, especially in areas with thin soil and high groundwater.

Dillon noted that plans are also being developed for solar and/or wind power at other SCA Tissue sites not only in the Fox Valley but also in Arizona, upstate New York, and Alabama.