Logansport, Cass County officials researching wind energy

kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com

Following the lead of Benton and White counties to the west, government officials and the local utility company in Cass County are probing the possibility of wind energy here.

Commissioner Gene Powlen confirmed the commission's desire to explore how the county fits into the wind energy scheme in Indiana.

"We are actively pursuing it," he said.

Plan Director Stan Williams is also encouraging development of wind farms.

"We find that this could certainly be an economic boost for the county," Williams said of the potential for tax revenue and the creation of permanent jobs.

Benton County Extension Director Jim Bricker sparked a great deal of interest among Cass County officials last week when he spoke about wind energy at a meeting organized by the plan department.

Benton County has 357 working turbines and 289 more in the works. Electricity generated in Benton County is powering thousands of homes and businesses in Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., Bricker said.

Bricker asked those attending the meeting a series of questions for which he provided the answers.

"So, what's in it for everybody?" he said.

There are 370 landowners in Benton County raking in more than $2 million a year, he said. Each landowner brings in between $5,000 and $14,000 per acre housing a turbine.

"It's better than $3 corn, I can tell you that for sure," Bricker said.

The turbines take up less than 2 percent of the acre that is leased from the landowner, Bricker said, and farmers can plant next to the turbine.

"What's in it for the county?" he asked.

In exchange for a 10-year tax abatement on the wind farm, developers paid Benton County between $1 million and $4 million over three- to eight-year periods.

Bricker warned, though, Cass County may not get deals that high because its wind resource is not as good as in Benton County. He said the extra tax revenue would still be substantial.

Bricker explained the benefits extend beyond dollars. Highly-trained professionals build the turbines, but the companies like to hire local individuals for long-term maintenance.

"So, we had to start feeding the educational system," Bricker said.

In Benton County, they started an industrial certification program at the high school last fall. Also, Ivy Tech recently added a two-year degree in renewable energy.

Bricker said over the last two years he has traveled all over the state speaking about wind turbines and how Benton County developed a 16-page ordinance to regulate how wind energy would be developed in the state's best wind resource location.

The ordinance, called the wind energy conversion system ordinance, has since been adopted by Clinton, Tipton, Montgomery, Jasper, Wayne and Jay counties.

"It has become the model," said Bricker, who provided an electronic copy to the plan department.

The ordinance is based on legislation from Oregon, California and Hawaii, where wind energy conversion has been taking place for years.

The ordinance made it easier for landowners by requiring a minimum depth for the underground cable connecting the turbines and minimum setbacks from residences, property lines and public roads. The ordinance also addresses noise, animal-safe design, flicker rate on the blades and plans for road repair, transportation and drainage.

Williams reported a landowner recently came into his office and told him that BP Alternative Energy, the same company operating Benton County's wind farms, had contacted him about a possible wind farm on his property.

A call to BP to confirm the international company had identified Cass County as a possible wind farm site was not returned.

The landowner wanted to know the county's standards. Williams confirmed the county currently has no wind energy regulations in place. He instructed the landowner to comply with the Benton County standards until Cass County establishes its own.

"There certainly is a lot of interest in Cass County. We just want to be prepared to make sure that we have standards in place prior to any development," Williams said.

Williams said the plan department would soon be working with a sub-committee of the plan commission made up of department heads, commissioners, council members and representatives from LMU and the Logansport-Cass County Economic Development Foundation.

The finished product would go before the plan commission and then onto the commissioners, who are encouraging the group to move as quickly as possible.

"We're hoping to have something in place by June or July," Williams said.

Logansport Municipal Utilities is researching wind energy development. According to LMU distribution manager Bob Dunderman, the utilities company is not looking to build a wind farm with hundreds of turbines, but to erect at least a handful of turbines.

Dunderman said they are making preparations to install wind assessment towers in five locations throughout the county within the next month or so. The purpose is to determine whether the wind flow is consistent enough to efficiently generate electricity.

"You've got to make sure you have a good amount of wind to capture that 30 or 40 percent efficiency rate," Dunderman said. "Realistically, you'd want that thing to be turning everyday, maybe not heavily everyday, but at least turning."

Testing is expected to take between 12 to 24 months. The results will dictate whether LMU pursues wind energy as an option. Dunderman explained LMU must be certain it has enough wind due to the large expense. Each turbine costs between $3 and $4 million. Funding the project has yet to be determined. Federal moneys may be available, Dunderman said.

LMU wants to supplement the electricity created by burning coal, a method that LMU expects to become increasingly expensive because of more stringent federal regulations.

If installed, the handful of turbines would supplement the power it generates for its customers, both residential and business. Dunderman said LMU's use of wind energy would neither lower nor increase rates.

The "clean" energy would however reduce emissions, something LMU has been working to improve since before its recent violations of the federal Clean Air Act.

Mayor Mike Fincher attended the Meadow Lake Wind Farm groundbreaking in White County. He came away from the informative speeches with new knowledge. He supports examining the possibilities of bringing wind energy into Logansport and Cass County.

"It's something we need to investigate. We generate our own electricity, and if we can do it as a community cheaper, or at least more efficiently, maybe that's something we need to look at," Fincher said.

The mayor mentioned the legislation referred to as Renewable Electricity Standards that is before Congress would make generating electricity by burning coal more expensive. The purpose is to require utilities to increase their use of renewable energy, such as wind energy. Fincher expects the federal government to eventually penalize LMU and other utilities that burn fossil fuels.

"We're going to have to look for alternative sources of energy or become a hostage of the people who do generate electricity," he said.

Fincher supports investing in renewable energy but opposes the bill for fear it would force LMU to purchase power from other suppliers thus running up the cost to local customers.

With the positives and possible necessities of wind energy, Powlen still expects naysayers. The biggest negative he foresees is that the massive wind turbines would clutter the landscape.

"It's not natural to the landscape," he said.

Powlen referenced U.S Senator Ted Kennedy's opposition to installing wind turbines in the ocean near Martha's Vineyard last year. Powlen said the commissioners would likely have to decide whether the opposition had valid arguments that outweighed any potential benefits of wind farms.