Willmar Demolishing Two Municipal Wind Turbines

One of Willmar’s two ill-fated wind turbines – on the north side of town – came down Thursday morning.  Demolition crews from Veit Construction went to work with a goal of bringing down the two wind turbines which have not been operating since the fall of 2024.

Explosive charges were detonated at the base of the turbine towers.  The south tower came down, but not the north one.  Kevin Marti of Willmar Municipal Utilities says some of the explosives on the tower still standing were faulty. In the meantime, crews began dismantling and recycling the debris from the south tower.
 
The land will eventually be returned to the Willmar School Distrct. The wind turbines were put up in 2008 north of Willmar High School in an effort to reduce the utility’s carbon footprint. However, they were purchased from a German company that soon was sold to other companies and Willmar Municipal Utilities lost their technical support.

The turbines were plagued with mechanical problems over their lifespan, forcing utility crews to be creative in finding parts to keep them running. They were finally shut down in the fall of 2024.  Marti says while they didn’t get the expected 20 years of use out of the turbines, he’s happy with what they were able to get out of them, and is proud of the efforts of utility crews to keep them running despite the challenges.