Cluster Development Studies

S1)	Brakken, William A., Brakken Executive Associates, St. Paul, MN, Harnessing the Wind: Opportunities and Impediments for Developing Dispersed Wind Generated Electricity in Minnesota, the Dakotas and Montana, Northwest Area Foundation, St. Paul, Minnesota, 31 May 1995.

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S2)

Brakken, William A., Brakken Executive Associates, St. Paul, MN, Minnesota's Cooperative and Municipal Electric Utilities: Opportunities for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Minnesota Sustainable Energy for Economic Development Project, January 1996. An assessment of attitudes expressed by utility administrators regarding investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency (REEE); documentation of contractual arrangements between consumer-owned utilities (COUs) and their power suppliers; and recommendations for action supporting increased investment in REEE, including cluster wind energy projects.

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S3)	Conover, Karen, Global Energy Concepts, Bothell, WA, Impact of Wind Energy Development on State and Local Economies, National Wind Coordinating Committee, Denver, CO, 16-17 January 1996.

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S4)	DeBoer, Bob, St. Paul, MN, Preliminary Survey of the Market Feasibility of Farmer-Owned Cooperatives in Lincoln and Pipestone Counties, draft graduate paper, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, January 1996, unpublished.

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S5)	Gipe, Paul, Tehachapi, CA, personal communication, 30 October 1994, related that NOVEM, the Netherlands environmental and energy agency, had determined that clusters are less expensive to build than large-scale projects.

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S6)	Gosselin, Journey, Utility-Scale Wind-Generated Electricity: Overcoming Technical Barriers to Distributed Generation, Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy, St. Paul, Minnesota, May 1996.

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S7)

Haley, Jay, Harnessing Prairie Wind for Electricity: An Inventory of the Vision, the Technology and the Economic Realities, Energy and Efficiency Research Center, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, 1995. A compilation of concept, technical and economic information directed at individual farmers in North Dakota; presented at Marketplace '95, the annual state economic development fair in Bismarck.

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S8)	Haller, Mark, Hudson, WI, Wind Energy Development: What is Best for Minnesota? A proposed state strategy for supporting cluster development. Unpublished.

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S9)	Izaak Walton League of America, Minneapolis, MN, Utility/Community Financing and Capacity Firming Options for a Municipally-owned Cluster Wind Power Project; subject of grant application submitted August 1996; application pending.

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S10)	Jacobson, Ralph, Innovative Power Systems, Distributed Generation in a Deregulated Utility Business, briefing paper written for Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy Board of Directors planning retreat, 11 July 1996.

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S11)	Lange, N., and W. Grant, Landowner's Guide to Wind Energy in the Upper Midwest, Izaak Walton League of America, Minneapolis, MN, June 1995. Provides guidance to land owners in windy areas on investment, ownership and leasing wind rights for cluster and large-scale wind development.

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S12)	Minnesota Department of Public Service, Union of Concerned Scientists, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Utility Benefits of Distributed Wind Energy Development; subject of grant application submitted June 1996; application pending.

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S13)	Nobel, Michael, Utility-Scale Wind Energy: A Great Plains Model for Distributed Development, Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy, St. Paul, Minnesota, presentation to Utility Wind Interest Group, 15 April 1996, El Paso, TX.

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S14)

Southwest [Minnesota] Regional Development Commission, Slayton, MN, Economic Impact Study Pertaining to development of Wind Power in Southwestern Minnesota, in process. Study awarded February 1996 to Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, Marshall, MN; study to be completed 01 September 1996. An analysis of the local economic impact of large and small (cluster) wind projects owned either by corporations or local residents.

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S15)	Wiltsee, George, et. al., Appel Consultants, Inc., Valencia, CA, Emerging Generation Technologies, Minnesota Legislative Electric Energy Task Force, St. Paul, MN, 28 June 1996.

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S16)	Wind, Thomas A., Utility Consultant, Jefferson, IA, Wind Farm Feasibility Study, Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, April 1996. An analysis of a municipally owned, medium-sized wind power plant in northwestern Iowa. Concludes that the net cost (after REPI) could be as low as 3.2¢/kWh.

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Great Plains Legislative/Regulatory Initiatives Directed Toward Cluster Development

L1)	MN: The state will pay a 1.5¢/kWh incentive payment for electricity produced by a wind power plant with a capacity of up to 2 MW beginning July 1997 (1995).

L2)	MN: Wind energy is defined as a commodity, allowing wind energy cooperatives to be formed to build project up to 2 MW (1995).

L3)	MN: Wind energy cooperatives are now eligible for low interest agricultural loans for projects up to 1 MW (1995).

L4)	MN: Wind energy projects up to 2 MW are exempt from property tax (1992, 1994).

L5)	MN: Wind energy projects up to 5 MW are exempt from power plant siting permit requirements by the Environmental Quality Board (1995).

L6)	IA: Net energy billing is available for wind energy projects with no limits on the installed capacity, including clusters of turbines (1983).

L7)	IA: The state created an exemption to allow a wind power plant to be jointly owned by municipal utilities (1996).

L8)	U.S.: The U.S. Department of Energy included $6.5 million in their proposed wind energy research budget for FY 1997 for a "Wind Cluster Program."

Information

I1)	Wind Across the Prairie: A Community Conference, Minnesota Sustainable Energy Economic Development. A series of three conferences held in 1996 in Pipestone, St. Charles and Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

I2)

Minnesota Community Wind Training Seminar: Curriculum on dispersed, cluster wind projects being developed by the Sustainable Resources Center under funding from the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources; curriculum to be completed by the end of 1996; courses for residents in windy areas to be offered in early 1997.

I3)	Research and Information Needs for Distributed, Cluster Wind Energy Development, Northwest Area Foundation, 09 February 1996. Summary of priorities established by participants issued 21 February 1996.

I4)	Minnesota Municipal Utility Association Annual Meeting, presentation on dispersed cluster wind energy plants by Glen Cannon, Waverly Light and Power, 26 June 1996.

I5)

Cooperative Power Annual Meeting, Top Ten Reasons Why Cooperative Power Should Invest in Renewables, presentation by Michael Noble, Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy, 06 June 1996; recommended that Cooperative Power add 1% of their capacity in renewables every year since the utility is growing at about 2% per year.

I6)	North Dakota Wind Energy Forums: The Dakota Resources Council coordinated and hosted two community forums on locally owned wind energy projects within the past year.

I7)	Wind Cluster Development in the Great Plains, presentation to AWEA board of directors by John Dunlop, regional representative, in annual meeting, 23 June 1996.

Utility Initiatives

U1)	EPRI-DOE Wind Turbine Verification Program Phase III (TVP III), soliciting utilities and partners to build small (less than 5 MW) wind cluster projects; proposals due 14 October 1996; over 40 utilities had requested applications by early August.

U2)

Otter Tail Power 10 MW Wind Power Plant. In response to a directive from the Minnesota Department of Public Service on 02 February 1996, Otter Tail Power was directed to conduct an analysis of the viability of a 10 MW wind power plant. On July 12, Otter Tail informed the department that the computer model they used "did not select" the wind project for their long-range plan. However, they will continue the wind monitoring they conduct in collaboration with the department.

U3)	Northern States Power Cluster Wind Project Contracts. NSP will enter into contracts to purchase electricity from cluster wind projects up to 12 MW in capacity without requiring the project to be bid competitively.

U4)

Waverly Light & Power Joint Municipal Wind Power Plant. Waverly Light and Power operates an 80 kW wind turbine located in their utility service territory. They have been interested in expanding their wind project. After conferring with their consultant, Tom Wind, they shifted their focus to building a cluster wind project in north-central Iowa and wheeling the power to Waverly in northeastern Iowa. Waverly Light and Power hosted an information meeting with other Iowa municipal utilities on 12 December 1995 to seek collaborators in an analysis of a jointly-owned municipal wind power plant. The Iowa Municipal Utilities Association later agreed to fund the complete study, which was released in April 1996.

Single Utility-Scale Turbine and Cluster Wind Energy Projects

Currently Operating

P1)	Holland, MN: Three 65 kW Bonus turbines were installed in September 1986 near Holland by Northern States Power.

P2)	Marshall, MN: Five Wind World 125 kW turbines were installed in May 1992 by Minnesota Windpower; electricity was sold to Marshall Public Utilities.

P3)	Britt, IA: Three 65 kW Windmatic turbines were installed on the farm of Monty Miller in 1992; net energy billing was used.

P4)	Spirit Lake, IA: A 250 kW Wind World turbine was installed by Spirit Lake Schools near the junior high in town in June 1993; net energy billing was used.

P5)	Nevada, IA: Two 250 kW Wind World turbines were installed at the Nevada High School in town in July 1993 and June 1994; net energy billing was used.

P6)	Waverly, IA: An 80 kW Vestas turbine with new blades and controller was installed by Zond for Waverly Light and Power in 1994.

P7)	Nevada, IA: A 225 kW Vestas V-29 was installed for the municipal hospital in 1995. It was located at the water treatment plant on the edge of town; net energy billing was used.

P8)	Adair, IA: A 225 kW Vestas was installed in Adair by Shafer Systems in June 1995; net energy billing was used.

P9)	Sibley, IA: A 600 kW Micon turbine was installed on the Braaksma farm by Northern Alternative Energy near Sibley in May 1996. This joins five 65 kW Windmatic turbines installed in May 1993 for a total capacity of 0.925 MW. Electricity is sold to IES Utilities.

P10)	Spirit Lake Nation, ND: One Micon 108 kW machine was installed on the reservation in August 1996. Power is sold to Otter Tail Power, Fergus Falls, MN.

P11)	Turtle Mountain Chippewa, ND: One Micon 108 kW machine was installed on the reservation in 1996 August. Power is sold to North Central Electric Cooperative.

Planned

P12)	Hendricks, MN: NAE 11.25 MW Buffalo Ridge Wind Farm; fifteen Micon 750 kW M1500 turbines will be installed just south of Hendricks near Lake Shaokatan. Permits are in process; construction is expected to begin in 1996.

P13)	WI: PSC-mandated demonstration projects (1.3 MW, 10 MW) will be constructed by utilities. A 1.3 MW project solicitation is expected in 1996.

P14)	Collegeville, MN: A single turbine (500 kW) is planned at St. Johns University. A solicitation is expected in 1997.

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