PINEVILLE, La. – Cleco and the Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission (GNOEC) held a ribbon cutting ceremony today to celebrate the completed construction of a wind turbine on the bank of Lake Pontchartrain in Mandeville.

The 60-foot high turbine will provide test data to help Cleco determine the economic feasibility of using wind turbines to generate power in Louisiana. Cleco and the GNOEC are partners in the two-year test project. Equipment installed at the site will send data to Cleco via ethernet, and the power generated will offset energy used at the Northshore Toll Plaza.

The information we gather will help us determine if wind power is a practical option for Cleco customers,” said George Bausewine, president and COO of Cleco Power.

Over the next two years the test project will document the average wind speed and the energy produced by a wind turbine rated at a capacity of 2.4 kilowatts. A weather station mounted near the structure also will transmit weather information to Cleco.

Cleco’s other renewable test projects include solar panel systems in Pineville and New Iberia and a biomass gasifier unit being constructed in partnership with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Crowley.