NPPD signs agreement with largest wind farm

Nebraska’s largest wind farm could begin operating commercially by the first quarter of 2009, officials say.

Elkhorn Ridge developers are in the last stages of testing the wind turbines, which sit on 8,355 acres of farm ground about 5 miles north of Bloomfield in Knox County, in north-central Nebraska.

Columbus-based Nebraska Public Power District has signed a 20-year agreement with Midwest Wind Energy, a private developer, to buy 80 megawatts of electricity from the $140 million wind farm.

Officials say the partnership is the first of its kind in Nebraska, a public power state. As a Community Based Energy Development or C-BED project, Nebraska residents will own 33 percent of Elkhorn Ridge.

A recent fire that destroyed one of the massive turbines and injured two workers delayed progress by about a week, Rich said.

Vestas, the Danish firm installing the turbines, has changed its testing procedures to ensure there are no more accidents, Rich said. Although they do not know the cause of the fire, Vestas has done a preliminary analysis and does not believe it was equipment-related.

When Elkhorn Ridge is completed, the 27 turbines will dwarf any others in Nebraska. Each can produce 3 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 250 to 300 homes. The project can serve about 25,000 residences annually.

By comparison, the two wind turbines operated by Lincoln Electric System north of Lincoln have a combined generation capacity of 1.2 megawatts.

“They’re about four and a half times the capacity of what we have,” said LES power supply manager Doug Bantam, who referred to them as “monster” turbines.

LES is buying 6 megawatts from the Elkhorn Ridge project for 20 years, through NPPD.

“The wind profile in north-central Nebraska is much better than it is here,” said Bantam, explaining why LES made the decision.

Other Nebraska utilities that will buy electricity from Elkhorn Ridge through NPPD include: Omaha Public Power District, 25 megawatts; Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, 8 megawatts; and the city of Grand Island, 1 megawatt.

Bantam said the arrangement is ideal for LES because it only has to pay for energy delivered from the wind farm -- and not for construction or maintenance costs. NPPD, for example, invested $2 million in its transmission lines to connect to the facility.

LES also plans to buy 3 megawatts through NPPD from the Crofton Hills wind farm. NPPD has signed a 20-year agreement to buy power electricity from the 42-megawatt facility.

Bantam said LES would also be interested in acquiring more wind energy through NPPD and the Omaha Public Power District, both of which have said they want to add more renewable energy to their power generation portfolios.

The $69 million Crofton Hills project, located on 2,394 acres of farm ground near Crofton in Knox County, will have 14 turbines. The project, built by Minnesota-based Juhl Energy Development, should go into commercial operation by the end of 2009.

Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at (402) 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.