The Columbus Telegram

NPPD deal is wind powered

April 25, 2008

By Nate Jenkins The Associated Press

CROFTON -- Nebraska Public Power District says it has reached a 20-year agreement to buy electricity from a wind farm that will be built south of Crofton, the second such deal the public utility has reached in the last couple of months.

Project developers say that by next year, 17 wind-powered turbines will churn out 42-megawatts of power at the Crofton Hills Wind Farm in northeast Nebraska. It will be built near Nebraska’s largest wind farm, the 80-megawatt Elkhorn Ridge project.

Combined, the two farms’ eventual output could power 38,000 Nebraska residences.

Though they will be located near each other, the two farms have different ownership and will be operated separately. But the proximity will help each operate more efficiently, said John Hansen, president of Nebraska Farmers Union who helped put the Crofton project together.

Officials have said the Elkhorn Ridge project is expected to be running by the end of the year so developers get federal production tax credits. The credits expire at the end of 2008 unless Congress renews the incentives to wind energy developers.

How much NPPD will pay for the power produced at Crofton Hills was not disclosed. The total cost of the project will be about $69 million, and it’s expected to generate about $300,000 in annual revenue for project owners and those who lease land to the wind farm.

Almost all of the ownership of the project is in place, said Hansen. Names of the owners aren’t being disclosed, but Hansen said all are Nebraska residents and businesses. Landowners leasing land for the project are being offered ownership interests.

The project is being developed by Minnesota-based Juhl Energy Development.

“I believe this model is a perfect fit with the Nebraska public power system,” Dan Juhl said.

While Nebraska is one of the windiest states in the country, it has relatively few wind turbines. State officials have said a main reason is that federal incentives for wind energy have only been available to private companies.

Nebraska is the only state where all electric customers are served by publicly owned utilities.

The private-public deal reached between the Crofton Hills farm and NPPD “harnesses the private sector wind energy incentives to put public power on a level playing field” with other states, Juhl said.