Wind Energy & Transmission: The South Dakota Landscape

Wind Energy & Transmission: The South Dakota Landscape was a conference held yesterday and completed today in Sioux Falls. Its intent was to create discussions about wind development in the state and roadblocks to realizing a significant development of the potential annual 1,030 billion kWhs of wind power South Dakotans enjoy [of course "enjoyment" depends on "who's ox is being gored"].

Sponsors of the conference were
American Wind Energy Association
National Wind Coordinating Collaborative
Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO)
and a number of regional power companies.

Although MISO often is blamed for the complexities of selling and delivering SD wind power in response to RFP by municipalities and orgs in Renewable Portfolio Standard states that have historically high electricity rates, the causes of complexities and slow action are the

• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and
• our own silence

on transmission line planning, siting, and funding.

Farmers, ranchers, and other ag business operators are experts at running their operations; to become expert in wind farming and other farm energy production, they have two choices.

1) become equally expert on the economics of wind farming- which I call "aerinomics-" and interstate electricity selling or

2) let wind developers and power companies assume the role of "expert" to do all of the "heavy lifting" and retain 98% of wind farming revenue.

Facts from the presenters

• demand for electricity will continue to increase
• selling electricity interstate will remain complex for years to come
• transmission lines will be the "interstate highway system" that every power generator and consumer will use and benefit from and
• individual action is critical to successful construction of transmission lines "In My Back Yard" if each of us wants to own "modern necessities."

Modern necessities
You needn't look any further than this computer screen, computer, and internet connection for three. But look around your home or place of business; what pumps or motors are in use? Do you have capacitor banks to use electricity more efficiently?

Do you have a

• washer/dryer
• TVs
• radios and
• all that other stuff that makes modern life "modern."

That's why we need transmission lines "In My Back Yard."

The Food and Energy Security Act

Senate debate on its version of the 2007 Farm Bill is expected to begin Nov. 5. Farmers, ranchers, and other ag-business operators as well as community leaders can start planning now their requests for Title IX Energy grants or loans for the following types of farm energy production.

The Farm Bill Energy Title drives investment primarily in the following technologies, which form the basis of the study's analysis and conclusions:

Wind power. A one megawatt (MW) wind turbine, which generates no greenhouse gas pollution, can displace approximately 1,600 metric tons of CO2 each year. [We enjoy 1,030 billion kWhs of wind power blowing through each year.]

Anaerobic Digesters. An average anaerobic digester that processes livestock manure waste can capture methane and generate up to 2,900 megawatt-hours of electricity, thereby potentially displacing about 4,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent annually.

Corn Ethanol. Corn- and grain-derived ethanol has the potential to reduce relative greenhouse gas emissions by 18% to 29% compared with gasoline.

Cellulosic Ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol has the potential to displace 85-90% of the total greenhouse gas emissions associated with gasoline.

Biodiesel. Biodiesel has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 80% compared with petroleum diesel fuel. [Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) from cafeterias, restaurants, and other meal preparation kitchens can be converted by an organic chemistry process named transesterification to produce BD. Communities from Bristol to Custer can make BD for local use.]

Energy Efficiency. Improving on-farm and rural business energy efficiency can avoid carbon pollution by reducing use of diesel fuel in farm equipment and by reducing electricity, natural gas and propane use.

Biomass and Geothermal. These systems generate thermal energy for heating and cooling purposes, displacing greenhouse gases primarily from natural-gas fired systems.

Solar technologies. The sun generates electric power and thermal energy without pollution.

A wind co-op model for South Dakotans

Nick Rahall. a West Virginia Congressman, is instigating mis-informed legislation that will re-chill wind development as did legislation by his fellow Congressmen concerning wind turbines and military radar clutter. Too-often urban legislators dream up regs or laws that don't "make a lick of sense." Does Mr. Rahall enjoy air-conditioning and heating? Is he concerned about affordable electricity rates for his constituents? If "yes," then ethically he is accountable for being thoroughly educated about birds and bats stricking wind turbine blades. Glass windows are equally destructive of birds; is he dreaming up a federal reg for that technology as well?
_____________________________

Our Wind Co-op is a unique cooperative of small-scale wind turbines on farms, ranches and public and private facilities across the Northwest. Through this collaborative effort, 10-kW turbines were installed at numerous rural sites serviced by publicly-owned utilities. Ten small wind turbines (10 kW rated power each) have been installed across the Pacific Northwest.

The Co-op was established in 2003 to foster growth in smallscale, distributed wind power; by 2007, 145,776 kWh have been harvested by members' turbines. Our Wind Co-op Green Tags are “value-added” because they are derived from small-scale, locally owned wind turbines.

In recognition of these unique qualities, Puget Sound Energy purchased all the Green Tags produced by OWC members in Washington and Oregon through 2006, and offered them for sale to their consumers through the utility’s Green Power Plan.

A review of how Our Wind Co-op leverages tag sales to reduce the cost-share required of site hosts is presented in this eight-page PDF. These Our Wind Co-op FAQs show how well-designed the co-op's business is.

South Dakotans can mimic this organization to harvest some of the 1,030 billion kW hours of wind power we enjoy (well ... SOME of us, any way) each year. We can harness some of those kWhs and put them to work for us in a number of situations, such as for air-conditioning and heating. We have a working model that can be adapted to our climate and REA situations; it's not "rocket science" any more!

A handful of South Dakota wind-
8 PM Jun 04, N at 20 mph
4 PM Jun 04, NNW at 23 mph11 AM
Jun 04, NNE at 14 mph
5 AM Jun 04,Calm 10 PM
Jun 03, NNW at 15 mph.

Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.

'Til next time. Best Wind.

Harvest wind power; reap rural economic development, Part II

Part II concludes my 1,080 words abstract of the eight-page PDF titled Wind Power: Economic Development for Rural Communities.

p5
Article titled Minwind I and II: Innovative Farmer-Owned Projects Are the Wave of the Future

Article titled Wind Energy Helps Reduce the Pain of Natural Gas Prices

“A utility with both gas and wind plants can use wind energy when it’s available, back off on the gas plant during those periods, and then ramp up the gas plant to maintain total system output when the wind dies down,” DeMeo said. “The savings in gas resulting from the wind plant operation can more than cover the total wind plant costs, and the gas plant can maintain system reliability when the wind is fluctuating or not blowing."

Article titled Wind Energy vs. Conventional Energy

"Wind energy is “homegrown” energy that produces no air pollutants and doesn't take any water" out of aquafers or lakes. Conventional power plants use large amounts of water to generate power from fossil fuels; 4 - 11 gallons of water are used to produce each gallon of ethanol.

"Fortunately [yes, wind is a good thing], South Dakota experiences an estimated 1,030 thousand billion kW hours of wind power each year. For this reason, rural utilities should be looking for ways to diversify their energy portfolios and partner in utility-grade wind power generation."

Sidebar article titled Corn Growers Support Wind Energy

p6

Sidebar article titled Minnesotans Export Crop of the Future to Cities

“There’s no question in our minds that we need to move toward renewable energy, and wind energy development is significant for any community. This is one of the few bright spots in a rural landscape,” said Dave Benson, farmer and county commissioner of Nobles County, Minnesota.

Article titled How Can I Bring Wind Energy to My Community?
Five suggested actions include
--learn more about Section 9006 of the 2002 U.S. Farm Bill and the Value-Added Producer Grant Program, which provide grants and loans for farmers and ranchers who install renewable energy projects. Visit www.usda.gov/farmbill for more information.
[The 2007 U.S. Farm Bill will have a Farm Energy Section and the Value-Added Producer Grant Program as well. Tell your federal representative that this is important legislation.]

Sidebar article & photo of windmill and wind turbine in the same field.
"Making a living on the family farm has never been easy, but harnessing wind energy as the cash crop of the future is a viable way to ease the financial burdens of farmers, ranchers, and rural communities and preserve the rural way of life. "

p7

Description of some of the goals of the U.S. Department of Energy "Wind Powering America" program.

p8

A list of seven sources for additional information, including
--Utility Wind Interest Group, P.O. Box 2671, Springfield, VA 22152, (703) 644-5492, www.uwig.org

A color map of the U.S. wind resource with legend of wind energy density classes of wind speeds measured at 50 m [164 ft.].

Class 5 is "Excellent" wind, having 500 - 600 watts/meter squared of swept area at 16 - 18 mph. "Swept area" is the circular area created by each full revolution of the blades.
A community wind turbine- such as the Fuhrländer FL 100- having a swept area of 346 sq. meters will harvest in SD roughly 173 - 207 kW during every hour of Class 5 wind.

A handful of South Dakota wind

5 PM May 26, WNW at 22 mph
Noon (16) May 26, W at 25 mph
9 AM May 26, WSW at 26 mph
11 PM May 25, SSE at 12 mph
Oldest 6 PM May 25, S at 22 mph

Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific content uncovered.

'Til next time. Best Wind.

Harvest wind power; reap rural economic development, Part I

Today I'll post half of the 1,080 word abstract of Wind Power: Economic Development for Rural Communities; tomorrow I'll post the second half. Wind Power is an eight-page PDF that has good introductory info about wind farming. A Wind Rush in the Great and Upper Great Plains states is on and now is the time to act.

p1 cover photo

p2 observations on wind power by noted citizens

"We support wind farming as both an alternative income stream for farmers and landowners and an economic development opportunity for rural communities.”
--Dan McGuire, Lincoln, Nebraska – Director of theAmerican Corn Growers Foundation and American CornGrowers Association Wealth from the Wind program

“Who would have guessed that the air above our land might be worth money someday?”
--Larry Widdel, Minot, North Dakota Farmer who leases his land to Basin Electric Power Cooperative

“I had heard some rumblings that wind energy was coming to South Dakota. I asked, ‘Isn’t there any way we can harness this energy and make it work around here?’ And the rest, as they say, is history.”
--Mike Newton, Highmore, South Dakota – Mayor of Highmore, a town that is now home to the 40-MW South Dakota Wind Energy Center [constructed, owned, and operated by FPL Energy, Juno Beach, FL, affiliated with Florida Power & Light Company. Hardly "homegrown"].

p3 Article titled Wind Energy for Rural Economic Development

"It’s tough to make a living on the family farm. In recent years, net farm income decreased as dry conditions in much of the country reduced the forecasted yields of corn, soybeans, and wheat."

"But there is a bright spot on the rural economic development horizon: wind energy."

Sidebar article titled Colorado Green Wind Farm

Article titled Jobs

p4 sidebar article titled The People Want Wind Energy

Article titled Landowner Revenues

"Wind energy offers rural landowners a new cash crop. Although leasing arrangements vary widely, royalties are typically around $2,000 per year for a 750-kilowatt wind turbine or 2% to 3% of the project’s gross revenues. Given typical wind turbine spacing requirements, a 250-acre farm could increase annual farm income by $14,000 per year, or more than $55 per acre."

"In a good year, that same plot of land might yield $90 worth of corn, $40 worth of wheat, and $5 worth of beef. Wind turbines have a minimal effect on farming and ranching operations. The turbines have a small footprint, so crops can be grown and livestock can be grazed right up
to the base of the turbine."

"As Leroy Ratzlaff, a third-generation landowner and farmer in Hyde County, South Dakota, said, 'It’s almost like renting out my farm and still having it. And the cows don’t seem to mind a bit.'”

Sidebar blurb- Wind Power Brings Relief to Rural Texas

"After the Texas legislature passed a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), utilities and wind companies invested $1 billion in 2001 to build 912 MW of new wind power projects."

Article titled Increased Local Tax Base

"Because wind projects are more capital intensive than conventional power plants, property taxes for wind projects are often two to three times higher per unit of energy than conventional plants."

"Seven examples, including Lincoln County, Minnesota: $471,822 in 2003 (155 MW)."

A handful of South Dakota wind-

5 PM May 25, S at 20 mph
2 PM May 25, S at 18 mph
Noon May 25, SE at 13 mph
9 AM May 25, SSE at 8 mph
2 AM May 25, Calm.

Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific content uncovered.

'Til next time. Best Wind.