Oct. 2, 2006 — Corn Belt Power Cooperative announced an agreement with 10 local farmer-owners in Palo Alto County in Northwest Iowa to purchase the output of the group’s 21-megawatt wind energy project.
Humboldt-based Corn Belt Power Cooperative is a generation and transmission cooperative that provides electricity to 11 rural electric cooperatives (RECs) and one municipal electric cooperative. These utilities provide power to farms, rural residences, small towns and commercial/industrial customers in 28 Northern Iowa counties.
The community-based wind project includes 10 Suzlon S88 wind turbines, each of which has a capacity of 2.1 megawatts and is individually owned by local farmers. Construction of the towers will begin this fall with commercial operation expected by December 2006.
The 10 local farmer-owners formed Crosswind Transmission, LLC, which will own and operate the transmission, substation and distribution facilities to carry electricity from the turbines and interconnect with Corn Belt Power Cooperative's 69kV transmission line near its Ayrshire Substation in Palo Alto County.
Under the terms of the contract, Corn Belt Power will purchase and receive all of the nameplate capacity and electric energy from the 10 wind turbines. "Corn Belt Power and its member distribution cooperatives have a long history of supporting rural development," says Dale M. Arends, executive vice president and general manager, Corn Belt Power. "This is our first community-based wind energy project and we have experienced excellent cooperation working with the 10 local owners."
Calhoun County REC, Rockwell City, receives wholesale power from Corn Belt Power. Rox Carisch, chief executive officer, Calhoun County REC, comments, "We are pleased that our wholesale power supplier is continuing to diversify its fuel sources with renewable energy. This wind project is especially appealing since the owners are local to the Palo Alto County area."
Corn Belt Power also receives wind energy from the Hancock County Wind Energy Center, owned and operated by FPL Energy near Duncan, Iowa, and hydropower from the Western Area Power Administration, which has several dams on the Missouri River.
"As farmer-owners of Crosswind Transmission, we understand the impact of projects like this to our rural communities," says Phil Sundblad, president, Crosswind Transmission, LLC. "As with locally owned ethanol or biodiesel plants, rural communities reap the economic benefits from projects that stay within our rural neighborhoods; the domino effect is felt among local businesses, schools and governments."
Corn Belt Power Cooperative purchases 59 MW of wind and hydro energy and sells available green credits to improve the economics of the renewable resources.
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Corn Belt Power and its member cooperatives are part of the Touchstone Energy national brand.