community wind for Meeker and Kandiyohi counties
From the Agri News
By Carol Stender
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
ATWATER, Minn. -- A group of Atwater-area landowners have formed Lake Country Wind energy and are teaming up with National Wind to establish a community-based wind energy project.
National Wind is a community-based wind energy development company based in the Twin Cites. It is developing more than 15 projects that will produce more than 4,000 megawatts of renewable energy.
Lake Country formed a limited liability company this spring, said company chairman Steve Bergo of Grove City. The group plans to develop 250 megawatts or more of wind near U.S. Highway 12.
A half-acre would be designated for turbine construction that would include an all-weather road leading to the turbine base. Landowners can easily farm within 20 feet of the base, Bergo said.
Local reaction to the project has been positive, said Gordon Behm, a retired Atwater farmer and founding board member for Lake Country.
"We've even had people say, 'Why didn't we do this years ago?'" Behm said. "Americans take so long to catch up. We are at 2 percent of our capacity for wind generation."
The Midwest is a hotbed for wind generation growth, Bergo said. It has more wind capability than many other places in the country.
Little water is used in wind generation and there aren't any smokestacks, said Jan Donahue, National Wind field specialist.
Field specialists and Lake Country board members have touted the project at local county fairs, Donahue said. Farmers and landowners are learning about the project. By early September into the winter, Lake Country will conduct landowner meetings to discuss the project in more detail. Those discussions will include signing leases for possible turbine location on their land.
Farmers interested in the project are asked to call the office at (320) 295-7570.
Bergo was interested in partnering with National Wind, he said. The company has a strong commitment to community-based wind energy projects.
"In Minnesota, our energy dollars are being exported," Bergo said. "A project like this will keep those dollars in the local community. It's another way that money comes back to the community."
Field specialists are talking to landowners and the company is conducting a utility study. Although preliminary studies show strong interest in renewable wind energy among landowners and the capability of strong wind generation in the area, studies are continuing on wind speeds along Highway 12. Computer-generated models are helping, but tower construction is under way that will help define wind speeds.
"Some are saying this is a Twin Cities project, but it's not," Donahue said. "We have local landowners who started this project."
Fellow field specialist Jesse Hopkins-Hoel agreed.
"These projects are started by interest generated from the local people," he said. "National Wind doesn't go seeking the project. It's locally generated interest. There is a greater base of support if the community has already embraced the project. That's cool because the people walk in the door asking for our assistance rather than the other way around."
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