Farmers May Cash in on Wind

Concerned about a gold rush mentality, state officials are cautioning Nebraska landowners to be careful about prematurely selling away their rights to wind developers.

Wind energy is underdeveloped in Nebraska, but that appears to be changing.

New policies under consideration by the Legislature could make this type of energy more profitable for landowners.

And a Nebraska ranching and agribusiness family has announced plans for what could end up being the state's first privately built wind farm -- one that would be substantially larger than anything owned by the state's public utilities.

"This could be much like the historic rush for ownership over land, gold, oil and water," State Sen. Annette Dubas of Fullerton said in a joint statement with Attorney General Jon Bruning.

According to Bruning's office, Nebraska landowners, especially in Custer, Holt, Cherry, Madison and Boone Counties, are being approached by developers for their wind rights.

Some landowners aren't waiting.

The Keating brothers, who grew up in Holt County, have joined with a Chicago-based developer to propose building a $160 million wind farm near Atkinson.

Matt Keating says the family has room to double the 100-megawatt project if it proves successful.

"We have to walk before we can run," he said.

Midwest Wind Energy LLC would develop the wind farm. The first phase would generate enough electricity to power 40,000 homes.

The project will become reality only if the Nebraska Public Power District agrees to buy the electricity. Dave Rich, renewable energy development manager for NPPD, said the utility is analyzing the proposal.

Fueling the drive to develop wind energy is a federal tax credit that is worth millions of dollars to private developers but is not available to the state's public utilities.

The Holt County wind farm, for example, could generate $75 million to $80 million in tax credits over 10 years.

Nebraska has been ranked as the sixth-windiest state in the country, but it lags far behind less windy neighboring states in wind energy development, largely because the state's public utilities aren't eligible for the same financial incentives that private utilities receive.

Additionally, the state lacks transmission lines in many areas where the best wind occurs.

The Legislature is considering several renewable energy proposals, and it's not clear what the final result will be.

However, the rapidly changing scene in Nebraska and the fact that Sen. Cap Dierks of Ewing has designated one of these bills as his priority raise the likelihood that some type of action will be taken.

Questions about wind power, however, do not simply revolve around how much to compensate private landowners. The arrival of private energy firms in Nebraska could change the nature of public power in the state.

"We have to be very careful," Rich said.

He said the issue should be more thoroughly studied, which is something Dubas said is likely to happen.

Matt Keating said he and his brothers have taken several years to get to this point.

"This is basically harvesting something that in the past has not been used and only cussed," he said. "Rather than let it blow, it's a great opportunity to capture some revenue off of it."

He declined to say how much his family would be paid for a wind lease.

Keating said his family's lease is in the ballpark of $3,000 to $4,000 per turbine, which would mean the family could earn in the vicinity of $300,000 to $400,000 a year from this first phase. NPPD is leasing its turbines for $2,500 each a year.

Nebraska's economy will benefit from the growth of wind farms, Keating said.

"The beauty of this is that rural Nebraska needs an infusion of any type to maintain our rural communities."

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Copyright (c) 2007, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

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