Wind power experiences jolt of energy from utilities

Wind power is nothing new to the area; Northeast Iowa has more than its share of turbines humming these days.

Waverly Light and Power’s commitment to wind energy has been well noted.

MidAmerican Energy is another example. The company recently unveiled plans to add 656 wind turbines that will generate up to 1,050 megawatts of power in Iowa by the end of 2015. It’s a $1.9 billion project that Gov. Terry Branstad called the largest economic development investment in state history.

When the expansion is finished, MidAmerican expects its Iowa customers will receive 40 percent of their electricity from wind. Up to now, wind has represented about a quarter of MidAmerican’s energy portfolio.

That’s an impressive accomplishment and a lofty goal, certainly. And as they’re finding out in Traer, Iowa — a town of about 1,700 residents about 20 miles south of Waterloo — it’s achievable.

“We installed wind generation in late 2011,” said Pat Stief, general manager of Traer Municipal Utilities. “Over the past 16 months — all of 2012 and the first four months of 2013 — Traer Municipal Utilities has received 38.98 percent of its total energy from wind. No fanfare, just quiet progress.”

The generation comes from a single 1,500-kilowatt turbine, built at a cost estimated between $3 million and $3.5 million with the help of a group of investors in Story County, Stief said.

TMU has a contract with the investment group to purchase the turbine’s output for six years, plus a monthly payment to be applied toward outright ownership of the apparatus after the six-year term, Stief said. Over the 16-month period he mentioned, the utility has paid an average of $31,300 monthly for a turbine that has generated about 8.4 million kilowatt hours, or around 521,000 per month.

Nobody is trying to fool themselves into thinking wind is the only answer to future energy needs, Stief said.

“Marriage of wind and a large-scale solar project would probably be the best combination, but at this point I don’t think solar is economically feasible on a utility scale,” he said.

Nor does he think achieving more than a 40 percent energy ratio through wind is practical for Traer.

“I think we’re just about the maximum because there are periods of time if the wind is blowing the turbine is giving us full output, that turbine will actually produce more than we need,” he said. “In order to increase the percentage you increase the output, and then you exceed our power needs.”

However, he noted wind, being one of Iowa’s chief — and cheap — natural resources, is a valuable tool in TMU’s power capacity. It’s especially valuable when periods of high winds align with peak demands.

“I don’t think you can pinpoint any point in time (when wind is most valuable). It’s just that it’s out there and will be fully owned by TMU at end of six years, and we’ve got a lot of public support. The people in Traer are happy to see that thing spinning.”