Conger farmer to sell wind power
Published 12:00 am Monday, April 1, 2002
CONGER – Wind energy will be part of the Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services power grid, now that one area co-op member has built a wind power generator at their farm south of Conger.
Monday, April 01, 2002
CONGER – Wind energy will be part of the Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services power grid, now that one area co-op member has built a wind power generator at their farm south of Conger.
A 120-foot power-generating windmill located on a farm owned by Winston and Linda Beiser is scheduled to become operational this week, providing power for themselves, but also for the local electrical power grid. And Freeborn-Mower has to buy that power, because a federal law requires energy providers to buy excess electricity generated by wind or other renewable energy resources, said Ron Steckman, president of Freeborn-Mower.
According to John Doran, the decision to build the tower was the Beisers’, although the co-op helped with some technical information. Its impact on local energy supplies will depend on the wind, Doran said.
&uot;It will be interesting to see how it works out,&uot; Steckman said. &uot;We will know in a few months how much power it can generate.&uot;
The decision for the Beisers was a business one, for the most part. According to Winston Beiser, it is a way to harvest resources that would otherwise be ignored, even though the income source is &uot;non-traditional&uot;. They decided to build the generator after doing research over the past three years.
The new windmill will generate up to 39 kwh of power each hour, depending on the wind speed. It is a smaller unit than the type being built south of the border in Iowa. The Beisers bought the generator from a wind farm in California which is being upgraded to taller towers and larger generators.
The one here in Freeborn County is only expected to generate electricity approximately 35 percent of the time it is in operation, for a possible total of 100,000 kwh for the year. The co-op would pay the market rate for the power, which is currently $.7 per kwh.
Whether there will be more electricity derived from wind power in Freeborn County is uncertain. Steckman said Freeborn-Mower would stay officially &uot;neutral&uot; when it comes to promoting or building more wind power generators in the area.
&uot;’Green power’ is a very popular concept, but there can be hidden costs to others,&uot; said Steckman.
&uot;We will neither encourage or discourage wind power generation,&uot; he said.
Part of their hesitation at this point stems from how the other users of the system end up providing a &uot;de facto&uot; subsidy whenever the co-op has to purchase the excess power generated from a windmill.
According to energy experts, Minnesota’s wind energy potential ranks ninth in the United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Minnesota and Iowa are among the leaders in the nation in the development of wind energy. An estimated 2 to 3 percent of Minnesota’s current energy needs are met through wind energy.