Texas’ Windthorst-1 ready for next phase
August 4, 2010 by KRemington
Filed under Community Wind Power, Wind Power News, Wind Power Projects
A family owned Texas wind development company and a New York community wind developer have completed their portion of work on a 51-MW wind-power project in Windthorst, Texas. OwnEnergy Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y. (ownenergy.net) and Horn Wind (hornwind.com) located outside of Dallas, developed the project as a joint venture and have subsequently sold a majority stake to a global renewable energy company. The next step in the project is to secure a power purchase agreement so the electricity it produces can be sold to area utilities.
“Horn Wind managed the early stages of the development, such as locating the site and its assessment, while
The community wind farm Windthorst-1 will be sprouting turbines soon. It’s one of 26 projects under development by community wind developer OwnEnergy Inc.
OwnEnergy worked on later stage development tasks such as environmental and wind-resource assessments, major equipment BOP services procurement, and financing,” says OwnEnergy’s VP of Development, Cynthia Crooks. Although the two development firms sold their interest in Windthorst-1 when credit markets tightened, they will work together on a second wind project, Windthorst-2, and look forward to a longer involvement, all the way to wind turbine construction.
“If there is one thing I’ve learned on this project, it’s that developers should not overlook good wind areas close to population centers. Texas’ best wind areas are in the west and central parts of the state, some distance away. But there are still good areas, like Windthorst-1, close to those who need the power.”
She says the project was developed in keeping with the central tenets of community wind. “That is, increased local jobs, greater involvement, and control and financial upside for members of the community. This commitment was maintained through the sale of the asset as OwnEnergy and Horn Wind retain a long-term interest in the project.”
Crooks says her company encourages the shift towards smaller-scale, locally-owned renewable energy projects by making use of resources, networks, and industry expertise to guide and support local entrepreneurs through the complex process of project development. By forming long-term partnerships with landowners and local developers to jointly develop commercial-scale wind projects, the company creates local jobs, spurs economic growth, and provides communities with clean, renewable sources of energy they can call their own. OwnEnergy usually develops utility-scale wind projects of 10 to 80 MW for commercial purposes and using utility scale wind turbines, 1.5 MW and above. OwnEnergy and partners have 26 projects under development across 12 states.
“This is the first of five regional wind projects we’re developing,” says Horn Wind President Jimmy Horn. “Moving this project to the next stage lets the company continue to grow and support our local landowners and communities.”
The Windthorst-1 project, just outside of Greater Dallas, is in the ERCOT (Electricity Reliability Council of Texas, a grid operator for most of the state) North Zone. ERCOT manages electric power to 22 million Texas customers, about 85% of the state’s electric load and 75% of the Texas land area. It is an independent system operator that schedules power on an electric grid connecting 40,000 miles of transmission lines and more than 550 generation units. WPE
Communities to own utililty-sized wind projects
June 9, 2010 by Kathleen Zipp
Filed under Community Wind Power
The first construction phase of Lake Country Wind Energy will be of 20 REpower turbines, each rated for 2.05 MW.
Erin Edholm
National Wind
Minneapolis
Traditional wind plant developers often say their work benefits landowners by providing them with royalty or lease payments. While such an arrangement does provide some benefit to the community, the business model makes little provision for ownership or local participation.
One community-based wind project in Minnesota works on another principle of making the landowners the project owners of their community-based wind farm. The arrangement, for example, at Lake Country Wind Energy LLC (lakecountrywindenergy.com) gives ownership interest to those who donate land to the project along with the opportunity to influence its development. Such community involvement fosters camaraderie and growth within the company and the neighborhood. The business model is to form the LLC so that the land owners need not put money into the project. “With a lease agreement and at least 500 acres, they get a unit of stock in the company,” says National Wind spokeswoman Erin Edholm.
This development model, promoted by National Wind, Minneapolis, also works to build larger wind farms than are usually associated with community-wind efforts. “Lake Country, for example, will begin working on the first of a several phases by building 40 MW of wind power and eventually finish with some 340 MW in a footprint that will cover over 25,000 acres,” says Edholm.
Community wind projects often get started when land owners call a development firm looking for opportunities. “Groups that have tried to go it alone often get stuck in the complexity and turn for assistance to other organizations like ours,” says Edholm. “Then we look to partner with 10 to 20 land owners, people we call founders.
On occasion the founders put capitol in to get the operation rolling. A board of advisors, a smaller number, are appointed from the initial founders. These are local people, so they know the local issues. We meet with them on a regular basis to provide updates and listen to their issues. They are our eyes and ears into the project,” she says.
Occasionally, the board requires changes to the lease. “For example, it could be to the provisions for the setback from a road or building, or how they are compensated for the land use, where access roads are built, or to the underground lines that connect to the grid. Occasional concerns are for how the turbines might interfere with crop farming,” she adds.
Payments to landowners vary with their involvement in the project. Some receive leases for their land and others get acreage payments, an operational payment the land owners get for the acres in the project. Edholm says her company has completed two community wind projects and has 11 more in development.
Lake Country Wind Energy has just over 150 participating landowners and eight board members, all people from the community which is mostly of agricultural land. The project started in the summer of 2008 with a site assessment. “We’ve now collected over a year’s worth of wind data from the footprint’s meteorological tower. With that data, our wind assessments team will be able to place turbines at the most productive locations,” says National Wind Field Specialist Jan Donahue.
The first construction phase will put up 20 REpower 2.0 MW turbines. REpower USA Corp., in Denver, has installed or sold more than 400 wind turbines with a total output of over 800 MW in the U.S. since 2007. These were chosen by competitive bids and from wind studies showing that such turbines of the size selected are best for the wind measured on the sites.
Following construction projects in Washington, Oregon, Indiana, Michigan and California, these are the first wind turbines that the U.S. subsidiary of Hamburg-based REpower Systems AG will deliver to Minnesota.
Myths and facts in community wind projects
June 8, 2010 by KRemington
Filed under Community Wind Power, Wind Power News, Wind Power Projects
A study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab of 7,390 homes surrounded by some 1,300 turbines in several states found that wind farms do not depress land values.
Community-wind developers often encounter some opposition when developing projects. It may surface as misinformed, for example, insisting that the turbines kill birds and wind farms depress land values, among other things. They are not true but the charges deserve more detailed explanations to effectively dispel them. Hence, this column and others to follow will deal with such misinformation and with the goal of a better informed populace. Here’s installment one.
Issue 1: Wind turbine syndrome or WTS, disrupts the lives of some people who live near wind turbines. The expansion of wind farms, therefore, should proceed more slowly.
The facts: The syndrome reached national attention after Nina Pierpoint self-published a non-peer reviewed book on the topic. She reported a variety of symptoms that some say keep them awake at night with a low level thumping and headaches. Others report different symptoms. Her theory is that inaudible low frequencies or infrasound, 1 to 2 Hz, activates the vestibular system and vibrates the chest. Another possibility she theorizes, is that infrasound at 4 to 8 Hz enters the mouth and lungs and disturbs the diaphragm. A definitive cause, however, remains uncertain.
The wind industry wants to address the issue at a serious level, so it hired experts to investigate the allegations and the syndrome. But before that, the industry tried engaging public-health authorities. Their disappointing response was that the affected group was too small and funds insufficient to cover the costs of an investigation. So, the industry funded a study to learn more.
Experts such as Geoff Leventhall and W. David Colby, both medical researchers have separately delved into the subject. Leventhall found the initial research flawed and unsupported by other researchers. He says WTS seems based on uncontrolled and unverified reports of nonspecific symptoms in 38 people interviewed by Pierpont. They apparently had no physical exams or diagnostic testing which might have found other causes for the symptoms. Subjects were selected for the investigation, says Leventhall, using criteria that expose extreme selection bias, leaving Pierpont’s conclusions suspect. Interested readers can hear their comments in a webinar at http://tinyurl.com/wpe-myths.
Leventhall does not dismiss WTS but concludes: “It appears there is no specific WTS but there are stress effects from low-noise levels, either high or low-frequency noise, which affects a small number of people. The audible swoosh-swoosh which, when it occurs, is the cause, not infrasound or low-frequency noise.”
Issue 2: Wind farms decrease land values.
The facts: Not true. An exhaustive scientific study done by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory examined land values over time and found no supporting evidence. The study by Ben Hoen and colleagues at the national lab, examined 7,390 homes surrounded by some 1,300 turbines in several states. Their report, available at http://tinyurl.com/landvalues, concludes that although, “One cannot rule out isolated cases where property values are negatively impacted, any such impacts within our sample are neither widespread nor statistically identifiable.”
Issue 3: Wind turbines kill birds.
The facts: Definitive bird studies or avian issues have cost millions of dollars, and organizations continue to spend on them. The studies often find that wind turbines have only an incidental effect on some birds. It is usually not a concern for populations for a region. In a few instances, projects did not have as much siting control before being built, and so there are a few issues. California’s Altamont pass is one. Tall buildings and cats kill more birds. Still, the issue is taken seriously and tracked, studied, and mitigated, at high cost. (Bats will be addressed in a separate column.)
Interested readers might look to the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative (nationalwind.org) for its many publications regarding wind wildlife studies. Even the Audubon Society and Sierra Club have recognized the studies as valid, accept their conclusions, and acknowledge that the wind industry treats the issue seriously.
So far, bird kills have caused serious scientific concern only in the Altamont Pass, one of the first areas in the country to experience significant wind development. Over the past decade, the wind community has learned that wind farms and wildlife can and do successfully coexist. The wind industry’s overall impact on birds is extremely low (<1 of 30,000) compared to other human-related causes, such as traffic and house cats. Birds can fly into wind turbines, as they do with other tall structures. However, some also insist that conventional fuels contribute to air and water pollution that can have greater impact on wildlife and their habitat. WPE
Communities to own utility-sized wind projects
April 3, 2010 by Erin Edholm
Filed under Community Wind Power
Traditional wind plant developers often say their work benefits landowners by providing them with royalty or lease payments. While such an arrangement does provide some benefit to the community, the business model makes little provision for ownership or local participation.
One community-based wind project in Minnesota works on another principle of making the landowners the project owners of their community-based wind farm. The arrangement, for example, at Lake Country Wind Energy LLC gives ownership interest to those who donate land to the project along with the opportunity to influence its development. Such community involvement fosters camaraderie and growth within the company and the neighborhood. The business model is to form the LLC so that the land owners need not put money into the project. “With a lease agreement and at least 500 acres, they get a unit of stock in the company,” says National Wind spokeswoman Erin Edholm.
The first construction phase of Lake Country Wind Energy will be of 20 REpower turbines, each rated for 2.05 MW
This development model, promoted by National Wind, Minneapolis, also works to build larger wind farms than are usually associated with community-wind efforts. “Lake Country, for example, will begin working on the first of a several phases by building 40 MW of wind power and eventually finish with some 340 MW in a footprint that will cover over 25,000 acres,” says Edholm.
Community wind projects often get started when land owners call a development firm looking for opportunities. “Groups that have tried to go it alone often get stuck in the complexity and turn for assistance to other organizations like ours,” says Edholm. “Then we look to partner with 10 to 20 land owners, people we call founders.
On occasion the founders put capitol in to get the operation rolling. A board of advisors, a smaller number, are appointed from the initial founders. These are local people, so they know the local issues. We meet with them on a regular basis to provide updates and listen to their issues. They are our eyes and ears into the project,” she says.
Occasionally, the board requires changes to the lease. “For example, it could be to the provisions for the setback from a road or building, or how they are compensated for the land use, where access roads are built, or to the underground lines that connect to the grid. Occasional concerns are for how the turbines might interfere with crop farming,” she adds.
Payments to landowners vary with their involvement in the project. Some receive leases for their land and others get acreage payments, an operational payment the land owners get for the acres in the project. Edholm says her company has completed two community wind projects and has 11 more in development.
Lake Country Wind Energy has just over 150 participating landowners and eight board members, all people from the community which is mostly of agricultural land. The project started in the summer of 2008 with a site assessment. “We’ve now collected over a year’s worth of wind data from the footprint’s meteorological tower. With that data, our wind assessments team will be able to place turbines at the most productive locations,” says National Wind Field Specialist Jan Donahue.
The first construction phase will put up 20 REpower 2.0 MW turbines. REpower USA Corp., in Denver, has installed or sold more than 400 wind turbines with a total output of over 800 MW in the U.S. since 2007. These were chosen by competitive bids and from wind studies showing that such turbines of the size selected are best for the wind measured on the sites.
Following construction projects in Washington, Oregon, Indiana, Michigan and California, these are the first wind turbines that the U.S. subsidiary of Hamburg-based REpower Systems AG will deliver to Minnesota.
How communities can establish wind plants
December 29, 2009 by Paul Dvorak
Filed under Community Wind Power
An emerging group of wind-farm developers are focusing on midsized projects and in places that traditional, large-scale developers are overlooking. These community wind projects, ranging from 5 to 80 MW, are cropping up in part due to recent financial incentives and guidance from firms such as OwnEnergy, based in Brooklyn, NY. “Several converging factors make community wind projects viable,” says OwnEnergy Founder and CEO Jacob Susman. “First is transmission capacity. This is an opportunity for smaller projects to tap into existing transmission infrastructure, avoiding the need for costly new upgrades. Also, as the industry matures, people in local communities are looking for more involvement, control, and a financial stake in a project; more than just the land lease they may be offered by an “absentee” developer. Finally, banks are now more interested in making relatively small loans as little as $20 million for a community wind project compared to the large investment necessary for traditional wind development. The industry is now saying that ‘small is the new big’.”
Susman says his company’s role is to identify a local partner or entrepreneur, someone who lives in the community or has ties there, and preferably someone who is a significant land owner in the project footprint. “Then we form a joint venture with the local partner. For example, partners in Kay County Oklahoma, a father and son team with property in the footprint can count several generations in the area. Their land will be used in the project along with neighbors’ land. That arrangement brings sensitivity to projects. Our role is to make the project work for everyone in the community.”
An island community off Maine provides another example of community wind, developed by Fox Islands Wind LLC. “Instead of importing power from the mainland on a cable, they generate it themselves. They decided to install three wind generators, and then structured the power, financing, procurement contracts as a community with an entrepreneurial person at the lead. A development company such as ours is in the lead so all members have an ownership stake,” says Susman.
Wind projects roughly develop in three stages. The early stage involves feasibility and gathering land for the project, getting a wind assessment of the property, and steps such as getting in the transmission queue. ”A lot of the early effort is local, a good amount of that is done by the local partner. We provide the documentation he would take around to the community. We would do the feasibility work, site assessment to figure out the size, make sure we are not in areas of endangered habitat, on whose property the turbines would be placed, and how it would connect to the grid,” he says.
The middle development phase is outsourced. It includes studies around transmission and permitting, and continuing the wind resource work by a third party, and OwnEnergy typically manages the third parties with input from the local partner. That person might be working with the community dealing with the land owners, and getting county tax abatement for the locals. If anyone in the community is not comfortable with the project, the third party works with that person. The final stage signs up contractors and gets the project ready for financing by wind energy lenders and tax-equity firms
Steps in Wind Development
Step 1: Land acquisition
Land is secured through option and lease agreements with the landowners.
Step 2: Wind resource assessment
One or more meteorological towers—which measure the onsite wind speed, direction, pressure and temperature—are installed. The developer needs to collect at least one to two years of this extremely valuable data prior to financing the project.
Step 3: Transmission and interconnection
After an initial interconnection application, the transmission owner or operator will conduct a series of studies to assess the feasibility to connect at a certain point of interconnection (POI), and ultimately offer an interconnection agreement to the generator. This process may last more than a year, depending on the transmission zone.
Step 4: Environmental studies and permitting
The developer must determine which permits are required and which environmental studies are needed to satisfy federal, state, and local rules and regulations. It is important that this is done early on.
Step 5: Power purchase agreement
This primary asset will dictate the economics of the project, as well as its financing outcome.
NOTE: These five distinct aspects are not necessarily sequential; however, there is a degree of dependency that must be followed for a successful outcome.
Coalition plans 20 MW community wind project
November 5, 2009 by Paul Dvorak
Filed under Community Wind Power, Wind Power News, Wind Power Projects
A developer of community wind, OwnEnergy, has entered a partnership with The National Farmers Union Service Association to develop a 20 MW wind energy project in Minnesota. “The Rothsay Wind Energy project will create local jobs and stimulate economic development in the community,” says OwnEnergy CEO Jacob Susman. “The project, in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, will also provide clean, locally-generated power to about 6,000 homes.” The project will soon enter the Midwest ISO Definitive Planning Phase and use Tier 1 turbines to ensure project financing. The project footprint includes property from six landowners, and will require minimal permitting in addition to the state required PUC permit.
Community wind projects provide farmers with an opportunity to generate a portion of their own electricity, create additional revenue for their family and community, and expand sources of clean, renewable energy for the country.
OwnEnergy, Brooklyn, N.Y., has more than 1,000 MW under development across 14 U.S. states. The company partners with landowners, farmers, and local entities to jointly develop utility-scale wind projects ranging from 10 to 80 MW. The projects help to create local jobs, spur economic growth and provide communities with clean, renewable sources of energy that they can call their own.
225-kW Aeronautica turbine aims at community wind
October 5, 2009 by Paul Dvorak
Filed under Community Wind Power
Aeronautica wind turbines, such as the 225-kW unit, are manufactured in the U.S., reducing shipping costs and delivery times.
Turbine developer Aeronautica Windpower, Plymouth, Mass, says the wind industry has been looking for a turbine that produces more than 100 kW, without having to go to the size or expense of a 600 or 700 kW machine. The Aeronautica 29-225, one solution to the problem, can generate 225 kW yet sit on a 40-m monopole tower. The stall-regulated wind turbine will fit on many suburban and urban properties. Its simplicity of design provides a reliable and cost effective turbine for commercial, industrial or municipal needs. Erection and transport is by common equipment. There are about 365 turbines of this sort installed in Denmark, the U.S., Germany, and Sweden.
A nacelle cutaway of the Aeronautica 225 kW turbine.
Small and Community Wind Conference, Nov 3 to 5, 2009 Detroit
July 23, 2009 by Paul Dvorak
Filed under Small Wind Power, Training, Wind Power News
An AWEA sponsored conference and exhibition called AWEA Small and Community Wind will be held in Detroit, Mich., November 3 to 5, 2009. Join wind industry leaders, new entrants to the industry, project developers, economic development groups, municipalities, land owners and other allied organizations to formulate and enact growth strategies for small and mid-sized wind applications. This event is an opportunity to learn practical ways to make money, save money, and be more energy independent
Small and Community Wind Conference & Exhibition will show how wind equipment can generate renewable electricity to power homes, farms, ranches, businesses, rural electric cooperatives, and municipal utilities. Attendee registration will open in the coming weeks, so bookmark www.smallandcommunitywindexpo.org and check back soon.
The Small and Community Wind Conference & Exhibition will feature a hall filled with exhibitors who have state of the art equipment that will draw business attendees and consumers. The exhibit hall will also feature a technology-presentation stage where exhibitors can spend a few minutes discussing their products and services with attendees. Exhibitors will include:
- Turbine manufacturers
- Tower manufacturers
- Inverter and battery manufacturers
- Wind, solar, and other hybrid system manufacturers, vendors, and
- Consultants, component suppliers, construction companies, and more.
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