Energy

7 photos · 2008–2020

7 photographs tagged Energy, 2008–2020.

Steel catwalks, pipes, and ductwork inside Riverside Generating Station, an Xcel Energy power plant in Minneapolis. — Riverside Generating Station is an Xcel Energy power plant along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Built in the early twentieth century as a coal-fired plant, it was later converted to burn natural gas.

Wind turbines stand on rolling hills in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. — Guanacaste's wind farms sit along the mountain corridors near the Tempisque River basin, where steady northeast trade winds funnel through gaps in the Cordillera de Guanacaste. The region's wind-power development began in the early 1990s near Tilarán, among the first utility-scale wind installations in Latin America. Costa Rica's state utility, ICE, along with private operators, has since expanded turbine arrays across these hills to feed the national grid, which runs on renewable sources for most of the year. The consistent wind pattern that draws turbines to this landscape is the same seasonal airflow that makes nearby Lake Arenal a destination for windsurfing.

Wind turbines on pastureland with Volcán Cacao volcano rising in the background in Costa Rica's Guanacaste Province. — Volcán Cacao rises within Costa Rica's Área de Conservación Guanacaste, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that protects one of the last large tracts of tropical dry forest in Central America. The dormant volcano reaches 1,659 meters and marks the northern end of the Guanacaste Volcanic Range. Wind turbines cluster along its lower slopes as part of the wind farms built across northwestern Guanacaste to capture the strong trade winds that funnel through the region each dry season, roughly December through April. Costa Rica developed some of Central America's first commercial wind projects in this corridor beginning in the 1990s, drawn by the same seasonal winds that once shaped the area's cattle ranching economy.

Industrial pipes and metal staircase at University of Minnesota's Main Energy Plant facility. — The Main Energy Plant, on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus along the Mississippi River, generates steam and electricity for the Twin Cities campus through a combined heat and power system.

Vestas wind turbine tower sections are stored in rows at a rail yard near Ashland Avenue. — Vestas wind turbine tower sections are stored in a rail yard near Ashland Avenue. The cylindrical tower components are capped and arranged in rows for shipment by freight rail. The staging area supports transport of oversized wind energy equipment to project sites.

Vestas wind turbine blades are staged at a rail yard in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, awaiting transport to a wind farm. — Rows of Vestas wind turbine blades are staged at a rail yard in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, awaiting transport to a wind farm. These large components are essential for generating renewable energy and represent a significant investment in sustainable power infrastructure. The rail yard serves as a critical logistical hub, facilitating the movement of these oversized materials from manufacturing facilities to their final installation sites. The presence of these blades underscores the growth of wind energy as a major contributor to the nation's power grid.

Vestas wind turbine components staged in a rail yard in Fond du Lac County, WI, awaiting transport to wind farm sites. — Rows of Vestas wind turbine components are staged in a rail yard in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. These large sections, including nacelles and tower segments, are awaiting transport to wind farm construction sites. The rail yard serves as a critical logistical hub for the distribution of renewable energy infrastructure. The components are manufactured by Vestas, a global leader in wind energy solutions, underscoring the region's role in the expansion of wind power generation.

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