Community%20Wind

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Community Wind

• Lisa Daniels,
• Windustry Executive Director
• IPED Wind Energy Finance
• Scottsdale, Arizona
• May 9, 2008

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Outline

• About Windustry
• Community wind What is it?
• Benefits
• Moving Community Wind out of the Midwest
• A few success stories

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Who is Windustry?

• Windustry promotes progressive renewable energy
  solutions and empowers communities to develop
  wind energy as an environmentally sustainable,
  community-owned asset. Through member supported
  outreach, education and advocacy we work to
  remove the barriers to broad community ownership
  of wind energy.

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Windustry

• Creating an understanding of wind energy
  opportunities for rural economic benefit.
• Non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, MN
  - work locally, regionally and nationally
• www.Windustry.org
• Focus on landowner/community options
• Wind Farmers Network
• National Community Wind Energy Conference

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Landowner Options

• Lease your land to a wind project
• Local project
• External developer
• Be a partner in a community wind project
• Put up a residential or farm size wind turbine
  for your own power

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Windustry ResourcesCommunity Wind Toolbox
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What is Community Wind?

• Working Definition
• Locally owned, commercial-scale wind projects
  that optimize local benefits.
• Locally owned means that members of the local
  community have a significant direct financial
  stake in the project other than through land
  lease payments, tax revenue, or other payments in
  lieu of taxes.

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Who qualifies as local?

• We have seen several definitions
• Some states define
• local owners must pay income taxes in the state
  or
• Federal side - often uses geography -
• i.e. local owners must live within 200 miles of
  project

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What is not in the Community Wind Definition?

• Size of project

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Benefits of Community Wind

• All the benefits of large wind development, plus
• Greater stimulation of local economies
• Increased local energy independence
• Increased competition in energy markets
• Greater acceptance of wind power

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Minnesota Supports Community Wind Through Public
Policy

• Utility resource acquisition requirements
• Renewable Energy Objective
• Renewable Development Fund
• Production Incentives
• Small Wind Energy Tariff
• Department of Commerce and USDA Grants
• Community-Based Energy Development Tariff

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Moving Community Wind outside the Midwest

• NGOs, Farm Org.s, Legal counsel, financiers,
  elected officials
• Mass.
• Oregon
• Colorado
• NY, NC, PA, NJ, RI, ME, and more in the works

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Moving Community Wind Out of the Midwest
Community Wind Energy 2008 in Albany, NY
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Community Wind Market Brings

• Diversity of
• Policy Incentives
• Technology
• Business Models
• Finance
• Benefits

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More Diverse Policy

• Currently
• USDA Farm Bill
• CREBS
• New Markets Tax Credits
• New Policy Coming up
• Renewable Energy Payments - styled after
  European Feed-In Tariffs
• Federal and several states (2008 Bills introduced
  CA, MN, VT, RI, MI, and others in the works)

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Renewable Energy Payments

• Renewable Energy technologies are guaranteed
  interconnection to elec. grid
• Premium rate paid for power sold is designed to
  provide a reasonable profit for investors over a
  20 year term
• Rates are different for each technology (wind,
  solar, biomass, geothermal etc)
• Keep watch on our website for more info and
  links, www.windustry.org

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Midsize and Large Commercial Scale Wind Turbines

• Midsize turbines 100kW - 1000kW
• As well as Large Turbines
• Local people have access to training for
  operation and maintenance
• O M can be aggregated regionally
• Lighter weight machines and hub height to suit
  crane availability

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New Transmission and Wind Resource Maps New
Planning Approach
Find maps and study report at www.windustry.org/d
g
Study performed by CapX 2020 Utilities
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Community Wind Energy Success Stories

• Farmer/Local Investors
• Local Utilities Municipal Utilities and Rural
  Electric Cooperatives
• Schools
• Tribal Communities
• Community Institutions
• New Models for Wind Industry and Community
  Partnerships

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Kas Brothers Plant 25-Year Cash Crop

• First farmer-owned, commercial-scale projectin
  U.S.
• Two 750 kW NEG Micon turbines installed in 2001.
• Financed with local banks
• Dozens of farmers in MN now following this model.
• Some with an equity partner, some without.

Richard and Roger Kas Woodstock, MN
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Minwind Energy, Luverne, Minnesota

• Farmer Ownership
• Nine LLCs, 11 wind turbines owned by 200 local
  investors.
• Installed in 2002 and 2004.
• Goals local economic dev., maximize return on
  investment, diversify local economy.

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State EnergyOffice
USDA
Lawyers
Elected Officials
Accountants
Contractors
Bankers
Developer
Equipment Suppliers
Minwind Board
Minwind CEO
Accountants
Investors
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Moorhead Public ServiceMoorhead, Minnesota

• Two 750 kW turbines, installed in 1999 and 2001.
• Public utility- used their own funds to purchase
  the machine.
• Among the highest subscription rates in the
  nation and one of the early successful municipal
  projects.
• Several good Iowa examples as well, including
  Waverly, IA.

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Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative Pike County,
Illinois

• Planning a spring 2005 ribbon cutting for a 1.65
  MW turbine.
• Inspired by new IL wind maps that show some of
  the best wind in the state to be in IREC
  territory.
• Turbine will generate about 4 of IRECs power
  needs, close to the 5 limit in wholesale power
  contract.
• Project supported by 3 grants (USDA, IL state
  grant, and IL Clean Energy Foundation)

IREC Engineering Manager and project leader Sean
Middleton.
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School Wind Projects K-12

• Wind turbines can supply schools with clean
  energy, new revenue, and learning opportunities.
• 8 school districts in Iowa have wind turbine from
  50 to 750 kW
• Spirit Lake Schools pioneered the idea in 1993
  with a 250 kW turbine, followed by a 750 kW
  turbine in 2003.
• Other school projects in MN, IL, CO, PA, VT, MA,
  MI, tribal communities

Spirit Lake, Iowa
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Carleton College Northfield, Minnesota

• Dedicated a 1,650 kW wind turbine in September
  2004
• First college to have a large scale turbine.
• Supported by MN Dept. of Commerce Community Wind
  Rebate, MN REPI, and Xcel standard tariff for
  small wind projects.
• First of many planned college and university
  projects

Carleton Turbine in November 2004
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SMI Hydraulics, Inc.Porter, Minnesota
Photos courtesy www.smihyd.com
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• Wind energy is where we need to goits good for
  the environment and builds American energy
  independence and American industry. Our family
  owned business can work profitably in wind
  power.
• Gary Stoks
• CEO, SMI Hydraulics
• Porter, Minnesota

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Lamar, Colorado

• Local project piggybacked on large wind project.
• Four 1.5 MW GE turbines less than 25 miles from
  CO Green, a 162 MW project in Lamar
• Municipal Utilities (Lamar Light Power and
  Arkansas River Power Authority) timed their
  project to coincide with Colorado Green.
• Coordinated with CO Green to lower development,
  construction and maintenance costs.

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In Closing - Outcomes of Community Wind
Conference 2008

• Closing comments of Jim Walker, 07-08
  President-elect AWEA
• Vision
• Wind Energy 20 of US electricity and
• Community Wind 20 of wind projects
• Roadmap
• Help deal with transmission, access to the market
  and financing
• New and innovative business models
• There is a huge future for Community wind.

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• Community wind helps get people connected to
  their energy use. Local energy production helps
  to build a better society, a better culture, and
  a better planet.
• David Benson
• Windustry, Board of Directors, Chair
• Farmer and Nobles County Commissioner
• Bigelow, Minnesota

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Contact Info

•    
• e-mail lisadaniels_at_windustry.org
• www.Windustry.org