Elliot Thorbrogger, Spirit Lake, IA
There's no place like home, and Elliot Thorbrogger knows this as well as anyone. Like many high school graduates from small towns enduring the effects of the recession, Elliot was forced to leave his home in search of better employment opportunities elsewhere.
Then just over a year ago, Elliot heard about new jobs cropping up in his hometown of Spirit Lake, Iowa. Soon after, he was able to return home to pursue a career born of a wind farm built just a few miles from where he grew up. Now, Elliot serves as the site technician for that wind farm. A graduate of the Iowa Lakes Community College Wind Energy & Turbine Technology Program, Elliot is a prime example of how utility-scale wind is being "homegrown" in 38 states across America.
