Rosebud turbine leads way for development of Native wind resources
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The 750-kW turbine on the Rosebud Sioux reservation is the first commercial wind turbine installed, owned and operated by an American Indian tribe. The turbine is connected to the grid at the Rosebud Casino and Hotel complex. (photo courtesy of Intertribal Council on Utility Policy)
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The May 1 dedication of the nation's first tribal-owned and -operated, utility-scale wind turbine gave new meaning to the name of the Rosebud Sioux—the Voice of the Four Winds People. It also launched the first stage of large-scale development of Native American-owned renewable energy across the Great Plains.
The Rosebud tribe and the utility commission began measuring wind resources near the tribe's Rosebud Casino in 1995. The installation of the 750-kW NEG MICON unit marked the beginning of what the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy hopes will be a broad, multiphase deployment of wind turbines on tribal lands throughout the Dakotas.
"It's a triumph for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, for the Northern Plains Tribes and all Native Americans, and for everyone concerned about our energy and environmental future," said ICOUP President Pat Spears.
Initial project provides road map for future development
A grant from the Department of Energy and a low-interest loan from the U.S. Rural Utility Service helped fund the project. The funding broke new ground in several respects. The $566,000 cooperative agreement was DOE's first with a tribe for a commercial wind turbine, and its largest tribal renewable energy grant ever. It was also the Rural Utility Service's first loan to an American Indian tribe for a utility-scale wind turbine to be interconnected to the transmission grid.
The turbine is expected to supply up to 80 percent of the Rosebud Casino and Motel complex's energy needs. It will also generate income from the sale of power and green tags. The unit is interconnected through the complex to Basin Electric Power Cooperative.
Beyond those returns, the project gave the tribe, TUC and ICOUP their first taste of negotiating interconnection agreements, power purchase contracts and selling "green tag" benefits to off-reservation markets. "The lessons we learned developing and operating the single turbine will provide a trail for our future renewable energy projects and for other tribes in the region looking to enter the green power market," said Spears.
The tribe has started a study, including environmental assessments, to look into building a 50- to 100-MW wind farm on the reservation. "Developing the reservation's renewable energy resources will help us achieve energy self-sufficiency in a way that is compatible with Native American history, philosophy and cultural and spiritual values," Spears stated.
Green tag sales play crucial role in funding
Basin Electric will purchase the electricity the casino-hotel complex does not consume. The renewable energy will be delivered through a cooperative effort with Nebraska Public Power, Basin Electric and Western.
Ellsworth Air Force Base, near Rapid City, S.D., reached an agreement to buy the first five years worth of the turbine's green tag generation directly from the tribe.
NativeEnergy, a national marketer of renewable energy certificates, acquired the environmental attributes of the next six through 20 years for an upfront cash contribution to the tribe that completed the funding needed for turbine construction. The Shelburne, Vt.-based company uses green tags to provide Carbon dioxide offset services to its business partners, including Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream, The Timberland Company, Stonyfield Farm, the Dave Matthews Band and individual members across the country.
"NativeEnergy's purchase commitment represented about 25 percent of the cost of the Rosebud wind turbine," Spears asserted. "Ultimately, the payment was critical in covering costs for this turbine and funding the work we've begun to expand wind development on the Rosebud Reservation."
Green tag sales will be critical for expanding Native American wind development on the Northern Plains. Even with customers like Ellsworth Air Force Base, there isn't a big enough market for premium-cost green power within reasonable transmission distance of the Northern Plains wind resource. Using green tags, the tribes sell the power locally at market rates and recover the pollution-avoidance value by selling the environmental benefits to renewable energy supporters anywhere in the country.
Contract clause provides training for O&M staff
Cash is not the only commodity needed for expansion, however. Operating an industrial wind farm requires trained personnel, an issue addressed with a novel arrangement in the tribe's purchase contract with NEG MICON. The tribe bought a 5-year extended warranty for parts, labor and operations and maintenance. During the initial two-year period, NEG MICON will conduct O&M training sessions for tribal members. DOE, in cooperation with Sinte Gleska University, is providing additional technical assistance from the DOE national laboratories to teach tribal members how to maintain system sustainability.
"The vision of the Intertribal COUP is that we can use modern technology to protect the earth and to provide economic restoration for indigenous people," declared Spears. "The Rosebud turbine is a big step toward making that vision a reality."