Corn Belt Power joins Iowa's wind revolution

The Hancock County Wind Energy Center will supply up to 11 MW of wind power annually to Corn Belt Power Cooperative's portfolio. Wind power is a growing industry in the state of Iowa. (Photo courtesy Corn Belt.)

After years of delivering wind energy over its transmission system, Corn Belt Power Cooperative took the plunge and added the renewable power to its own generation mix.

The Humboldt, Iowa, Generation and Transmission cooperative inked a 20-year agreement with FPL Energy in October to purchase up to 11 MW annually from FPL's 98 MW Hancock County Wind Energy Center. The wind project went online at the end of 2002.

North Iowa Municipal Electric Cooperative Association, which comprises municipal utility members served by Corn Belt, will receive 4 MW of the capacity. The remaining 7 MW will supply Corn Belt's 11 rural electric cooperative members.

Interest and opportunity dovetail in FPL project

"We've been surveying our members for some time now, so we knew there was considerable interest in renewable energy," said Dale Arends, Corn Belt's executive vice president and general manager. "Then we heard about a company building a wind farm in our own backyard, so to speak."

The company was FPL Energy, the nation's largest producer of wind energy, and the farm was 148 turbines in Hancock County northeast of Corn Belt's Humboldt headquarters. Prairie Energy Cooperative, a Corn Belt member distribution cooperative, provides power to the turbine sites when the wind units are not generating. The fact that the project was interconnected to the transmission system made it that much more attractive.

FPL Energy approached Corn Belt and opened negotiations. The deal was a little over a year in the making, but Arends viewed it primarily as a matter of working out details. "We were committed to giving our members what they wanted. The location, price and benefits were lining up to make Hancock look like the opportunity we had been waiting for."

Deal prepares Corn Belt for future requirements

Iowa's renewable portfolio standard gave Corn Belt another incentive to add wind to its resources. The state requires investor-owned utilities to include 2 percent of renewable energy in their mix. The standard does not apply to member-owned co-ops, but Arends believes it is only a matter of time before the requirement is extended to include them.

"The reasons for diversifying fuel types in the generation pool are the same whether the utility is privately or publicly held," he noted. "It is good for the environment and increases the reliability of our power supply. It's simple common sense."

Iowa receives the bulk of its energy from coal, natural gas and nuclear power, as well as a small percentage from hydropower, like the energy Corn Belt purchases from Western. However, wind power is the fastest growing renewable energy source in the country, and wind farms and small wind projects are rapidly becoming a fixture in the rural landscape. Corn Belt's grid is interconnected to both the Buffalo Ridge and Hancock wind farms, which generate 300 MW of wind power.

"Renewable energy is no longer a novelty product or a luxury. In Iowa, it is part of our economy and our future," stated Arends. "By adding wind energy from Hancock to our portfolio, we are preparing for that future."