Tooele Army Depot’s wind turbine will be getting a twin.
A $5.5 million contract was awarded last month to Icenogle Construction Management Inc., a company based in San Francisco, to install a new 2-megawatt wind turbine in TEAD’s Alternative Energy Corridor.
In July 2010, TEAD cut the ribbon on its first wind turbine, a $3.8 million project with the same energy-generating capabilities as the proposed turbine. An array of photovoltaic panels on 14 buildings on base has also been installed, and in August 2012, ground was broken on an $8.7 million, 1.5 megawatt Stirling solar dish array.
The energy corridor’s goal is to allow the depot to become net zero — going off of the grid and producing all of its own energy — in five years, said Kathy Anderson, public information officer for TEAD.
The depot currently produces 30 percent of its own energy from the first wind turbine, Anderson said. The solar array has not yet been turned on yet, but when complete is anticipated to produce 40 percent of the depot’s energy, and the second turbine will provide another 30 percent, she said.
Capt. Michael Meyer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said no date has been set to break ground for the new wind turbine. However, he said, the contractor began meetings Tuesday to discuss the project and should have a schedule mapped out in the next few weeks.
The energy corridor is located on the depot’s south side not far from South Mountain, which separates Tooele and Rush valleys. The existing wind turbine is easily visible from Tooele Valley.