Despite the overall uncertainty in the U.S. economy, Oklahoma’s winds are a powerful, homegrown resource that could generate economic growth across the state.

That was the message conveyed this week by AWEA throughout a series of meetings at career technology education centers in the Oklahoma towns of Enid, Woodward, and Lawton. AWEA representatives and several local partners spoke with state and local leaders about wind industry investment and job creation in Oklahoma.

Organizers reported that the events were extremely well attended, with over 100 people participating in each of the first two meetings, which took place on Thursday in Enid and Woodward. (The third event, in Lawton, was taking place at press time.) Moreover, participants included stakeholders and decision makers that the wind industry has been working hard to reach: county commissioners, mayors, economic development professionals, and state legislators.

“Oklahoma has a significant role to play as the nation looks to diversify our energy mix by tapping into plentiful domestic resources,” said AWEA Outreach Manager Susan Williams Sloan. “And renewables, including wind, are critical for regaining our economic strength and our energy security. The U.S. Department of Energy says that wind could provide 20% of the nation’s electricity supply by 2030. Wind power is affordable, reliable, doesn’t require fuel, and doesn’t cause pollution.”

With more than 82,000 MW of wind energy potential, Oklahoma is one of the top 10 windy states and already has several operating wind farms capturing a very small fraction of that potential to electrify 190,000 homes. Over the next five years, Oklahoma utilities are looking to dramatically increase the amount of power they get from wind farms:

• Public Service Company of Oklahoma plans to purchase 200 MW of wind power by 2010.
• Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. hopes to add 600 MW of wind capacity by 2012 along with the transmission necessary to deliver that power to its customers.
• The University of Oklahoma plans to purchase 100% of its electricity from wind power by 2013 through an agreement with OG&E. A 100-MW wind farm is being planned to meet that commitment.

The Southwest Power Pool, which coordinates electricity delivery for southwestern states, is evaluating about 5,000 MW of new wind projects for Oklahoma as well as the need for transmission upgrades to deliver the electricity produced by those projects. With new, upgraded transmission infrastructure in place, Oklahoma’s wind-generated electricity could become a major resource for the South, as excess electricity could be sold to consumers in other states.

“As the state’s wind industry grows, it will create jobs and investment in rural Oklahoma,” said Phil Berkinbile, state director of the Oklahoma CareerTech system. “We’re ready for an economic boom—and the state career tech system will be there to provide core training and education for the specialized workforce of one of Oklahoma’s most promising industries of the future.”

Wind energy-related manufacturing is already creating jobs for Oklahoma. One wind turbine tower manufacturer, DMI Industries, will add about 250 new jobs to its existing Tulsa plant by mid-2009. DMI already employs more than 200 Oklahomans, including skilled workers like welders.

Tim Eraker, an Iraq War veteran who has worked at the Tulsa plant since it opened, takes pride in his company’s role in the new energy economy. “I like working for a company that cares about the environment and cares enough about the energy crisis to do something about it,” he said.

The U.S. wind power industry employs some 50,000 people in the U.S. and is adding another 10,000 new domestic jobs by the end of 2008, making it a growing bright spot in the U.S. economy. Since January 2007, more than 50 new wind industry manufacturing plants have opened or been announced in virtually every region of the country, adding employees to the domestic workforce every day as the wind industry ramps up to provide 20% of the nation’s electricity supply by 2030.

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Iberdrola Renewables on October 29 released the wind industry’s first company-wide avian and bat protection plan.

The plan is modeled in part after the 2005 Avian Protection Plan template developed by some 30 electric utility companies, numerous electric cooperatives and rural utilities, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to address impacts of transmission and distribution lines on bir ds. The plan, which addresses bats as well as bir ds, applies those template principles to its wind fleet.

Currently, 836 species of migratory birds are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Many bir ds and bats are also protected by the Endangered Species Act and other federal and state wildlife statutes. The Iberdrola plan establishes internal processes that will help the company responsibly develop wind energy while addressing wildlife concerns.

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service commen ds Iberdrola Renewables for seeking ways to minimize bird and bat deaths at [its] wind turbine facilities while pursuing renewable energy development in an environmentally responsible way,” said USFWS Director H. Dale Hall. “Through [its] avian and bat protection plan, drafted in consultation with the Service, Iberdrola Renewables is the first wind energy company to incorporate a voluntary set of principles in a formal plan to reduce wildlife impacts. The plan’s principles, similar to ones originally developed by the electric utility industry to minimize bird electrocutions and power line collisions, will reduce risk to bir ds and liability under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.”

USFWS staff from the Migratory Bird Program and the Office of Law Enforcement have been working with the company’s U.S. wind permitting director for nearly a year to develop and refine the plan.

“The wind industry takes environmental stewar dship seriously and this is yet another example of a wind company stepping up to reduce wildlife impacts and to pave the way for more clean, renewable wind energy,” said Laurie Jodziewicz, AWEA’s manager of siting policy.

The Iberdrola plan contains a corporate policy about wildlife protection and establishes a process for contact with agencies and non-governmental organizations early in the site assessment stage of project evaluation. It also sets up internal policies for pre- and post-construction monitoring and proper site design, impact assessment, permit compliance, nest management, training, mortality reduction measures, and mitigation. It supports Iberdrola’s efforts on research and includes sections on quality control, public awareness, cost, and implementation. The plan is available electronically at
www.iberdrolarenewables.us/pdf/Signed_ABPP_10-28-08.pdf .

“Environmental protection is integral to how we conduct company business,” said Iberdrola Renewables CEO Terry Hudgens. “Implementing this plan will help us reduce our impacts on bir ds and bats and help us do a better job of expanding wind energy as an important source of electricity in the United States.”

“Creating this plan has been a process of examining all aspects of how we develop and operate our wind projects,” said Andy Linehan, Iberdrola Renewables’ wind permitting director. “Implementing it will lead to real and important changes in our processes that will reduce impacts to wildlife.”

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NRG Energy, Inc., and its 50-50 joint venture partner, BP Wind Energy North America, Inc., have completed construction on the 150-MW Sherbino 1 Wind Farm project in Pecos County, Texas.

The wind farm, NRG Energy’s first, was developed by subsidiary Padoma Wind Power, LLC.

“Sherbino is an important early step in fulfilling NRG’s objective of meeting growing energy demand cleanly and efficiently,” said David Crane, president and CEO of NRG Energy. “We look forward to a long partnership with BP Wind Energy and to decreasing our carbon intensity through Sherbino and the other low- and no-carbon emissions projects we are developing as part of our RepoweringNRG program.”

The Sherbino I Wind Farm, NRG’s first wind project, consists of 50 3-MW Vestas wind turbine generators. Padoma managed the construction and development, and BP is now operating and dispatching the facility.

“The state of Texas has been far sighted in recognizing the value of zero-fuel, zero-emission wind power and other renewables,” said Jan Paulin, president and CEO of Padoma Wind Power. “Sherbino 1 will help increase the state’s renewable resources and provide NRG another tool to satisfy growing electricity demand while fighting global climate change.”

In addition to the Sherbino project, Padoma Wind Power is developing the Elbow Creek Wind Project, a 122-MW wind farm in Howard County, Texas, near Big Spring. That project is expected to be online by the end of the year. Padoma is also in varying stages of development on other wind projects in Texas and California.

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Investor-owned utility We Energies filed an application with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) on October 27 for authorization to build a wind farm of up to 207 MW in northeast Columbia County, approximately 45 miles northeast of Madison.

Current plans call for the Glacier Hills Wind Park to consist of up to 90 wind turbines. The project cost is expected to be in the range of $340 million to $530 million depending, in part, on the size of the turbines selected.

“The Glacier Hills Wind Park is an important step toward meeting our renewable energy goals and will clearly help Wisconsin reduce its carbon footprint,” said Andy Hesselbach, wind project manager.

The PSCW review is expected to take from six months to a year. With the actual construction and commercial operation dates dependent on approval from the PSCW and the availability of turbine equipment, the first full year of commercial operation is expected to be 2012, We Energies said. The project, therefore, would help the utility meet the state renewable electricity standard (RES) benchmark of 10% renewables by 2015. “Wind gives us the most generation for the dollars,” spokesperson Brian Manthey told Wind Energy Weekly.

The utility completed a similar project on time and on budget earlier this year with the commissioning of the 145-MW Blue Sky Green Field Wind Energy Center in Fond du Lac County.

Discussing the motivation for the utility to own more wind, Manthey said that customer demand is also driving the corporate strategy. “We also have a very strong green pricing program,” he said. “[In addition to needing to meet the RES target,] we also would have been looking at renewables and wind because of the green pricing program.”

Owning another wind facility—rather than entering into a power purchase agreement for wind power—also made sense, said Manthey, as a result of an opportunity. FPL Energy, which did the development work on the Glacier Hills project, bought a nuclear facility from the utility; as part of the deal, We Energies received the option to acquire the ready-to-build wind project. The utility also was able to acquire the Blue Sky Green Field project with the development work completed.

“We’re making the same commitment to sound project management and communication that served our customers so well during the successful building of the Blue Sky Green Field site,” said Hesselbach.

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By Carl Levesque

At its annual conference in October, the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) made news by unveiling a strategic vision calling for 20% of Canada’s electricity to come from wind power. The plan, entitled “Wind Vision 2025 – Powering Canada’s Future,” argues that Canada “can and must” ensure that the country achieve that milestone—which translates into 55,000 MW of wind capacity—by 2025. That was great news for a nation that, much like the U.S., has some tremendous wind resources but nevertheless must work through some key policy issues to truly tap those resources.

On a more macro level, the news also suggests that visions for wind energy are growing increasingly bold across the globe, with 20% wind power even emerging as somewhat of a trend.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a report detailing how wind energy can meet 20% of the U.S.’s electricity nee ds by 2030. The wind industry called the report the foundation for a vision to reach 20% wind power. Here in the U.S., the report promises to guide and inspire the industry for years to come. “The report identifies the central constraints to achieving 20%--transmission, siting, manufacturing and technology—and demonstrates how each can be overcome,” AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher said at the time the report was released. “As an inexhaustible domestic resource, wind strengthens our energy security, improves the quality of the air we breathe, slows climate change, and revitalizes rural communities.”

The 20% trend, though, did not start in North America. In April 2007 TradeWind, an initiative funded under the European Union’s (EU) Intelligent Energy-Europe program, released a technical report that examines a scenario of wind power penetrations of 18.5% in Europe. According to the report, 280,000 MW of wind power capacity will be needed to reach that benchmark. To achieve 20% wind in the U.S., over 300,000 MW of wind power will need to be deployed, according to the DOE report. (The U.S. recently passed the 20,000-MW threshold.)

The release of the TradeWind report came less than two months after the March 2007 announcement that EU hea ds of state had committed to a binding target for 20% renewables by 2020.

Naturally, both the report and the target were foremost on the agenda at the European Wind Energy Conference in Milan, Italy in May 2007, when attendees heard the message that wind power could provide 16% of electricity nee ds as early as 2020. “Wind energy will be a main contributor to achieving the target for 20% of the European Union’s overall energy supply to come from renewable sources by 2020,” said Arthouros Zervos, president of the European Wind Energy Association.

As for Canada and CanWEA’s 20% wind vision, Canadian citizens certainly seem to be on board, further underscoring the world trend. CanWEA released survey results showing that 87% of Canadians support the 20%-by-2025 wind energy vision. “We have the potential, the ability, and the support of Canadians,” said CanWEA President Robert Hornung. “What we now need is government to step up and come to the table with a regulatory environment that streamlines and ai ds the development process.”

Such a statement could just as easily have come from a member of the U.S. wind energy industry.

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Several worthy players in the green power arena took honors at awards events taking place at the 2008 National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference in Denver.

Green Power Partner of the Year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized Intel Corp. and Cisco Systems with its Green Power Partner of the Year Award for the companies’ voluntary efforts to address climate change by purchasing green power and helping advance the development of the nation’s green power market. Intel’s current green power purchase of more than 1.3 billion kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of nearly 170,000 passenger vehicles per year, or the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power more than 120,000 average American homes annually, according to EPA. In addition to Intel’s green power purchase, the company’s venture capital arm invests selectively in various clean technology areas. In addition to promoting greater energy efficiency in its facilities, over the past seven years Intel has invested more than $20 million toward over 250 energy conservation projects that saved over 500 million kWh.

Cisco Systems’ current green power purchase of more than 385 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding CO2 emissions of nearly 50,000 passenger vehicles per year, or the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power more than 36,000 average American homes annually, EPA said. Cisco’s purchase represents nearly 44% of its total annual electricity usage across its U.S. operations, and places the company among the largest buyers of green power on the EPA’s national top 25 list.

Green Power Leadership. Jan Hamrin received a 2008 Green Power Leadership “Pioneer” award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Green Power Partnership and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a career spent building the market for green power. The award reflects Hamrin’s 30 years spent promoting renewable energy through research, policy guidance, and the development of consumer-protection programs. She founded the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) in 1997 and a year later created the nationally known Green-e certification program for voluntary renewable energy purchases. She retired as president of CRS at the end of 2007.

Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) awards. CRS recognized four organizations for their roles in building and shaping the market for renewable energy. Green Power Market Development Award Winners include Portland General Electric (PGE) for the launch of the GreenPowerOregon.com Web site, with Honorable Mention going to Detroit Edison for its GreenCurrents Ark promotion. The Green Power Pilot Award went to the Energy Action Coalition’s Campus Climate Challenge, while Green Mountain Energy Co.’s Hispanic Marketing Campaign received Honorable Mention.

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Two companies recently announced that they have entered into service agreements to do operations & maintenance work at wind farms.

enXco Service Corp. The company signed a multi-year operations and maintenance service agreement with PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., for six wind energy projects having a total capacity of 456 MW. enXco Service Corp. will begin operating and providing all necessary maintenance for the Leaning Juniper project in Oregon (100.5 MW) immediately. Services for the remaining five projects, all located in Wyoming—Glenrock (99 MW), Glenrock III (39 MW), Rolling Hills (99 MW), Seven Mile Hill (99 MW), and Seven Mile Hill II (19.5 MW)—will begin in December.

In addition to operation and maintenance services provided at the sites, round-the-clock remote monitoring and fault resets of the 304 wind turbines will be provided from enXco Service Corp.’s Operations Control Center located in Pipestone, Minn.

GES . GES entered a new operations and maintenance (O&M) agreement with Acciona Wind Energy USA that provides for ongoing support for the 82 1.5-MW wind turbines at Acciona’s wind farm near Elk City, Okla. GES will provide on-site technicians as well as additional expertise drawn from its global O&M department.

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Supply Chain Workshop Important Dates to Remember

Organizers are still accepting registrations for the 4th annual AWEA Wind Energy Fall Symposium being held November 19 – 21, 2008 at Desert Springs Resort and Spa, in Palm Desert, California. Already over 500 attendees have registered, and and we expect over 700.

Currently some nights are SOLD OUT at the Desert Springs Resort during the week of November 17, and an overflow hotel has been added. If you are unable to secure a reservation for all of the nights you will need at the Desert Springs Resort, contact the Desert Springs Villas, which is less than 1 mile from the main hotel. The Villas is offering the same group rate of $189 per night, and complimentary transportation will be provided between the two locations. For more specific hotel reservation information click here.

To register for the symposium visit: http://www.awea.org/events/symposium08/. For questions about this event email us at conference@awea.org or call (202) 383-2512.

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• 25 years of completing archaeological, built environment, and cultural lan dscape cultural resource inventories
• Extensive experience coordinating with federal and state agencies
• Creative use of GIS to optimize wind farm investigations
• Native American consultation and documentation
• Professional staff who work in offices across the nation
• Large business capabilities with small business responsiveness

Landstar Carrier Group is a recognized leader in the field of specialized transportation with the capacity to commit its fleet of trucks to AWEA members who need and require the safest, most reliable freight services available. Lan dstar operates one of the largest heavy haul/specialized transportation divisions in the country serving their customers with more than 8,500 power units, 12, 000 pieces of trailing equipment and over 20,000 approved carriers. Because of their specialized capacity, Lan dstar is an excellent choice when transporting over-dimensional, super heavy freight is required.

Landstar can provide specialized/heavy haul equipment that can carry the largest tower sections and transport any size turbine blades with the hard-to-find Schnabel trailers. With this kind of professional service, Lan dstar is already working with windfarm service suppliers like Nufab Rebar, LLC. Nufab, a rebar fabricator, has two plants in Longview and Dayton, Texas, and is supplying the rebar for tower foundations at wind farm locations in Texas. Lan dstar’s point-to-point transportation service has delivered Nufab’s time-definite freight to these locations where it had to be intact and on time all the time.

If AWEA members are having service problems with hard-to-move freight, need additional capacity, or would like additional information, please contact:

Tom Deere
Phone: 866-895-0987
FAX: 479-967-3859
Email: tdeere@suddenlinkmail.com

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