Wessington Springs, S.D., welcomes new wind farm

Members of the Heartland Board of Directors and Babcock & Brown join South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds (fourth from left) to dedicate the Wessington Springs Wind Farm. (Photo by Heartland Consumers Power District)

The spotlight shined brightly on Wessington Springs, S.D., Oct. 2 as project partners and state and local officials dedicated the Wessington Springs Wind Farm, marking the end of months of teamwork, and the beginning of the city's role in the new energy economy.

Many parties involved

South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds was the keynote speaker at the dedication of the 34-turbine wind farm. The facility is expected to annually produce 51 megawatts (MW) of energy, or enough to power more than 17,000 homes. "There is no silver bullet in making it all come together," Gov. Rounds told the crowd of nearly 100. "What you've got is a combination of folks at the local level, at the business level and at the governmental level, all pulling together to make this a reality."

Those partners include Heartland Consumers Power District (HCPD), Babcock & Brown Renewable Holdings Inc. and Western. Babcock & Brown is the project developer and owner, and Heartland and Western co-own the Integrated Transmission System that will deliver the power.

Western built and will maintain the Wessington Springs Switchyard that is interconnecting the facility to the Integrated Transmission System. Heartland is purchasing the wind farm's generation to sell to its customers, including the University of South Dakota (USD) and South Dakota State University (SDSU), making them the first Midwestern universities to be powered with 100-percent renewable energy.

Experienced developer a deciding factor

The idea for the wind farm first came up in late 2005, when Heartland opened the discussion with a company that Babcock & Brown would acquire a year later. Persuaded by strong anemometer data and the Australia-based wind developer's excellent reputation in the industry, Heartland signed an agreement in March 2007 to purchase the output of the facility. "We were looking for a premiere wind developer, and we found that in Babcock & Brown," said Heartland General Manager Mike McDowell.

Reaching an agreement on energy pricing was difficult, McDowell recalled, but Heartland ultimately chose to purchase all of the facility's output for the life of the project. The purchase made Heartland the first utility in South Dakota to get 20 percent of its power portfolio from renewable resources, McDowell noted.

The decision to locate the wind farm near Wessington Springs was easier. The proximity to the co-owned transmission system and the area's Class 6/7 wind resources made the site an obvious choice. The Wessington Wind Farm is Babcock & Brown's 21st installation in the United States, but its first in South Dakota.

Local economic development

Wessington Springs, a municipal power customer of Western and of Heartland is receiving a small amount of power from the wind farm, but many benefits from hosting it. "The contractors and construction crews started arriving early this spring, and a few are still in the area finishing up the construction," said Linda Willman, city finance officer. "This has been a real boost for our local economy."

The project was good for local landowners, too. Babcock & Brown inked land lease agreements with eleven landowners around Wessington Springs. Even the last holdout now agrees that the wind farm will be good for the area, said Willman. "He was concerned about what the construction would do to his property," she explained. "But the developers worked with the landowners, and plan to restore the land around the towers back to the way it was."

Babcock & Brown also created a full-time job in Wessington Springs for a field maintenance manager. Every job counts in a rural town with a population of 1011, especially one that brings new skills to the local labor pool. "Our city council recognizes the need to go green, and having a resident who is part of the wind industry could be a great resource," Willman acknowledged.

It doesn't hurt that Wessington Springs students are getting an introduction to wind power technology, either. "The school superintendent has organized field trips to the facility already, and we've had several public tours, as well," said Willman.

With Babcock and Brown eying other South Dakota projects, Heartland looking to add more renewables and residents talking knowledgeably about transmission needs, wind's future in Wessington Springs looks bright. As Mayor Jim Burg told an Ag Week reporter at the dedication ceremony, "The next step is just to keep encouraging these things to happen.

Resources

Wessington Springs, S.D.

Heartland Consumers Power District

Babcock & Brown Renewable Holdings Inc.

Ag Week

People

Mike McDowell

Linda Willman

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