See the Wind Turbine Causing So Much Commotion in Orono

Jay Nygard has built his wind turbine. Final touches were completed Wednesday, and the turbine is now up and operating.

"I personally think it looks like art compared to what I could have bought," Nygard said earlier this week. "It is up and ready for action, as is my solar. I cannot wait to fire them up!"

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Nygard calls himself an entrepreneur and currently has ownership interests in several businesses. The turbine causing so much legal drama locally is made by a company which Nygard has an agreement with to manufacture in the U.S.—an opportunity he says he’ll capitalize on in the near future.

“Now that I’m able to, I’m going to manufacture these here in Minnesota,” Nygard said. “I’ve had this opportunity on the table for a year and a half, and we’ve been trying to get a hold of (Governor) Dayton to tell him that. Im not saying I need all this government money, but it would be nice to have some sort of government support to get us off the ground—to help get things going and show how these things work.”

Nygard added that the opportunity to capitalize on a clean energy business is both real and local, stressing his motivation revolves around changing the way energy is viewed.