ENERGY - Federal ruling helps wind farms in Iowa

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http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4780940/14328352.html

Federal ruling helps wind farms in Iowa High winds disrupt power and traffic By PERRY BEEMAN Register Staff Writer 04/08/2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Proponents of wind energy say a new federal ruling will make it more lucrative for Iowans to generate their own power.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has ruled that Iowans whose wind turbines are hooked up to investor-owned utilities must get full credit for the portion of their electricity they produce.

Regulators say utility companies have successfully fought the rule since it was put in place at the state level in 1983.

MidAmerican Energy, which appealed Iowa's rule to the federal commission, wants to pay a fraction of the price for wind power based on its own cost of producing electricity. The company is considering an appeal of the federal ruling, spokesman Kevin Waetke said.

Phil Funk, a Dallas Center farmer, said the federal decision will encourage hundreds of farmers and school districts to consider investing in wind turbines.

The so-called "net billing" ruling gives the owner full credit for the power produced by the private turbine, Funk said.

"Net billing is the catalyst, whether they are going to be profitable or not," said Funk, who installed a wind turbine atop an old Army radar tower on his property. "If you don't have net billing, you are rendering these machines practically useless.

"In view of the high energy costs, I believe it is imperative that we go ahead with wind energy in Iowa," he added. "The wind is always going to be there and it is a very good source of energy."

**** The federal move is a big deal in Iowa, which supporters say has the 10th-best wind resources in the country. Wind generators produce only a fraction of the state's power, most of which comes from burning coal and from nuclear plants.

Backers of the industry say wind could easily produce 25 percent or more of Iowa's power. Farmers can get thousands of dollars in lease payments for tiny parcels of land for the turbines and can still farm around the free-standing towers, proponents say.

The issue has been debated in the school halls at Spirit Lake, Nevada, Forest City and Clarion-Goldfield and at the home of an Earlham bank president, where wind turbines either stand or are planned.

Small businesses and farmers scattered across Iowa's windy plains have fought for net billing so that shelling out tens of thousands of dollars for a small turbine will produce a faster payback.

With net billing, the meter runs backward when the wind turbine is generating electricity. MidAmerican officials wanted to run two meters, one for the utility power used, the second to measure the turbine's output. They wanted to pay perhaps a fourth of the retail rate for the power from the turbine.

Richard Scott fought with Alliant Energy for a year and a half before the utility allowed the Nevada schools to use net billing for the two turbines on campus.

"It was a year and a half of relationships I don't want to even think about, because everything is fine now," said Scott, the district's buildings and grounds supervisor.

The school's turbines were donated, so the district didn't have to worry as much about the return. Would the district have bought the turbines if net billing wasn't available?

"I doubt it," Scott said. "I don't think anyone would."

**** The state is still fighting with MidAmerican over net billing. MidAmerican won a district court case overruling the state's stance that the regulated utilities would have to offer net billing. The Iowa Utilities Board appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Bill Smith of the utilities board said the federal commission ruled on whether federal law blocked Iowa's stand. The Supreme Court will have to figure out what it means to state rules, he said.

Said utilities board spokesman Rob Hillesland: "We're looking for ways to expand wind energy, not shut it off."

Waetke of MidAmerican Energy said his company supports wind energy and other alternative-energy sources. However, the utility considers it unfair to credit the turbine owners with the full retail rate for the power generated by wind because the amount includes overhead costs.

"All other customers are paying for the right for a person to generate power," Waetke said of the net-billing arrangement. "We feel that isn't fair to our customer base because this single customer wants this arrangement.

Tyler McNeal of Windway Technologies, which has sold turbines in Iowa, said the federal decision is a break for farmers and others who might want to generate their own power with free fuel.

McNeal estimates that 125 of his customers decided against installing the generators when they ran into trouble getting net billing.

If the Iowa court agrees with the federal government, the tiny fraction of Iowa's power generated by the wind could jump dramatically, McNeal said. In addition to the collections of turbines in places such as Clear Lake and Alta, farmers and small businesses could sprinkle small turbines across the land.

"If they have any kind of usage at all in a month, it will give them the flexibility to use the alternative system. It will help justify the capital investment." McNeal said. "It's a hell of a big deal."

-- Anonymous, April 08, 2001


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