MINNESOTA COOPERATIVE UNVEILS 2-MW,
THREE-TURBINE GREEN POWER WIND PROJECT

Great River Energy (GRE), a generation and distribution electric cooperative based in Elk River, Minn., celebrated the advent of green power on its system last week with a ribbon-cutting ceremony dedicating a new wind farm. The wind plant consists of three 660-kW turbines and is located near Chandler, Minn.

"[GRE] is proud to be the first utility system in Minnesota to allow customers to voluntarily purchase all or part of their energy from a renewable resource," said Rick Lancaster, GRE vice president of public affairs.

"These wind turbines represent a visionary approach to green marketing," said John Dunlop, Great Plains Representative for the American Wind Energy Association. "Great River Energy's collaboration with environmental and renewable energy advocates paved the way for construction of these turbines, and the development of a credible green-pricing program."

The wind project stems from a customer subscription program last year that was cooperatively managed by GRE and the Minnesota environmental group Clean Water Action to gauge consumer demand for the non-polluting power. A series of leaflets and brochures was distributed to GRE consumers to introduce them to wind power and give them an opportunity to sign up for the new program.

After only six months GRE signed up enough customers to establish its green power program, which is called "Wellspring." The cooperative is selling the electricity generated by the turbines in blocks of 100 kilowatt hours, costing $2 per block.

"The customers have really driven the success of this program," said Tim Seck, GRE wind project coordinator. "GRE decided that it would not implement this program unless consumer desire to purchase wind energy was already established. Speaking loud and clear with their pocketbooks, many Minnesota and Wisconsin electricity buyers said they want this non-polluting power."

The project's three Vestas 660-kW wind turbines will generate 1.98 megawatts (MW) of power at rated output and provide as much electricity each year as 600 average American homes use. The machine's tubular towers reach 65 meters high, and feature fiberglass blades 47 meters long. Extending more than 200 feet from the turbine's base to the tip of a blade, the clean energy machines are among the tallest in the country.

Besides GRE, there are other utilities purchasing energy from the Chandler project. Dairyland Electric Cooperative of Wisconsin will buy one-third of the power generated at the wind plant, and provide it to customers at a cost of $3 per 100-kWh block. Since GRE is a generation and transmission cooperative providing service to 29 electric cooperatives in two states, the wind farm's potential service area extends from the northwestern tip of Wisconsin to the southwestern corner of Minnesota.

Several other wind farms recently developed in Minnesota have resulted from a state legislature mandate requiring that Northern States Power Co., a major utility based in Minneapolis, acquire 425 MW of wind generation. As of last week, NSP had contracted to buy 294 MW from various projects either currently operating or scheduled to be online sometime this year.

More recently, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has voted to require NSP to add another 400 MW of wind capacity its generation portfolio by 2012. The total of 825 MW of wind energy would make NSP one of the world's largest buyers of wind-generated electricity.

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