Blowin' in the Wind
May 05 - Power Engineering
In addition to providing Colorado residents with a clean source of electricity, the Colorado Green Wind Project is providing much needed revenue to local ranchers, business owners and government.
"Lamar's new wind project is already bringing significant new economic
development opportunities, including a new source of income to local farmers and
increased tourism opportunities," said Lamar's Mayor Elwood Gillis. 'The
pioneers began harnessing wind 150 years ago to pump water for their livestock
and homes. Wind is even more important for our city and region today. It is
vital that our nation develop renewable energy sources, such as wind, to their
fullest extent to overcome our reliance on fossil fuel and provide local energy
security."
Comprising 108 GE 1.5 MW units, the largest wind turbines assembled in the
United States, each machine features three 113- foot blades joined by a rotor -
the diameter of which is wider than the wingspan of a jumbo jet.
PPM Energy and Shell WindEnergy acquired the project from GE Energy through a
joint venture agreement in October 2003 (Shell WindEnergy owns a total of 393 MW
of wind energy resources while PPM Energy owns or controls more than 830 MW).
The power, purchased by Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo), a part of
Xcel Energy, was solicited through a competitive bidding process, which included
several other forms of electricity generation. Xcel Energy currently purchases
the output from 829 MW of wind power in the United States.
"The Colorado Green development was borne through a competitive bidding
process where it competed against other forms of electricity generation
including natural gas and coalfired generation," said Terry Hudgens, PPM's
CEO. "That Colorado Green was found to be one of the lowest cost
alternatives shows what we've said all along - today's wind power is
cost-competitive with any other form of new generation."
Lamar, CoIo., Mayor Elwood Gillis stands near several of the GE Energy wind
turbines that comprise the Colorado Green Wind Farm.
GRID CONNECTIVITY
Because Colorado Green is in a rural part of the state, connecting it to the
grid required a considerable upgrade to the local transmission infrastructure.
The backbone of the electrical system now consists of 20 miles of underground
cable within the wind farm. Power comes from the turbines at 590 V, is converted
to 34 kV and then stepped up to 230 kV at a new Xcel Energy substation. More
than 50 miles of direct buried cable was laid from the turbines to the
substation, followed by 44 miles of 230 kV transmission lines.
In addition, 25 miles of road was built for the wind farm. The 108 wind
turbine concrete foundations each consumed 300 yards of concrete and 45,000
pounds of rebar. At the height of construction, subcontractors employed nearly
400 workers at the site.
"Because of the drought, the economy has been really bad, and the wind
farm has been a real blessing," said Linda Mulberry of Workforce Colorado,
the state job service agency.
Craig Cox of the Western Business Coalition for New Energy Technologies
conducted a study of project impact on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy.
According to his figures, the total site services required for construction of a
typical 100 MW wind farm is about 419,020 man hours - equivalent to about 53,377
days of work at the site (Table 1).
TABLE 1
SITE SERVICES FOR A TYPICAL 100 MW WIND FARM
With construction completed, Colorado Green continues to provide 15 to 20
full time permanent jobs to the community, according to Cox. Local property
owners also benefit from royalties based on the power generated. Typical
payments range from $3,000 to $6,000 annually per wind turbine.
The Emick Ranch, near Lamar, for example, is home to 98 GE 1.5 MW turbines.
They reside on about 10,000 acres of the Emick family's working cattle ranch.
"With the arrival of the wind on our ranch, we no longer have to rely
solely on cattle to pay our way," said Don Emick. "The turbines are
beautiful to look at and the cattle sit under them for shade. The turbines and
access roads take up a minimal amount of land and now pay us an annual
royalty."
The local community is also gaining through tax dollars, employment
opportunities and tourism. It is estimated that Prowers County will make an
additional $2 million annually in tax revenue from the project with an overall
29 percent increase in the county tax base. Figure 1 illustrates the growth in
only one month's sales tax revenues. County Assessor Andy Wyatt has these
additional funds earmarked for several worthy recipients, including $189,000
annually to the Prowers Medical Center, $203,000 to the school district bond
fund and $917,000 for the school district general fund.
MORE TO COME
While Colorado Green may be the first large wind farm in the state, it
probably won't be the last. Based on the current price of gas, Xcel Energy
testified to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that the wind
energy supplied by Colorado Green will save its ratepayers $4.6 million.
Not surprisingly, there is strong support throughout the state to add more
wind resources to the grid. In November 2004, Colorado joined 17 other states
requiring utilities to provide a percentage of their retail electricity sales
from renewable resources. This is known as a renewable portfolio standard (RPS).
Although Colorado is the 17th state to pass a RPS, it is unique because its RPS
was put in place by a ballot initiative. The standard is scheduled to take
effect in January 2007, when 3 percent of energy consumed will be from renewable
sources. (Currently only 2 percent of Colorado's electricity comes from
renewable sources). The state's utilities will be required to produce 6 percent
of their energy from renewable sources between 2011 and 2014 and 10 percent by
2015 and afterwards.
FIGURE 1
PROWERS COUNTY SALES TAX COLLECTION COMPARISON
Although the applicable renewable technologies include energy derived from
wind, solar, geothermal heat, biomass, landfill methane, animal waste, hydrogen
fuel cells and small-scale hydroelectric, wind is expected to be a large part of
the renewable mix.
"Republicans and Democrats are working together to provide real life
solutions for Colorado," said House Speaker Lola Spradley (R- Beulah).
"We want to provide Colorado with more energy choices, as well as numerous
jobs that help rural Colorado."
The GE 1.5 MW unit, pictured here, is the largest wind turbine assembled in
the United States. It features three 113-foot blades joined by a rotor.
BY DREW ROBB, ROBB EDITORIAL
Author
Drew Robb, a freelance writer based in Southern California, writes about
engineering and technology.
Copyright PennWell Publishing Company Apr 2005