WIND BENEFITS IN THE HEARTLANDS

Midlands Voices: Maximize our wind power to boost rural economies
Tim Geisert, November 15, 2010 (Omaha World-Herald)

"…In conversations the Nebraska Energy Export Association has had across the state, the reason farmers, ranchers and community leaders want to see progress in wind development is not for environmental reasons. The reason they want progress is for the economic opportunities wind power holds.

"….After the Nebraska Public Power District issued a request for proposals [for a wind project in Madison County], 22 developers submitted 35 bids to build a project between 50 and 300 megawatts. Those bids included prices for wind-generated electricity that were extremely low, better than any you see across the nation…[U]nfortunately, NPPD rejected all of the bids…[because] though the prices were good for wind energy, they were still a little higher than prices for coal-generated energy."

4th best wind in the U.S. (click to enlarge)

"…NPPD is required by state law to provide service at the lowest cost it can…[U]nder state law, NPPD really didn’t have an option. Much to the disappointment of Madison County residents and developers, NPPD’s hands were tied…We should explore untying NPPD’s hands.

"…Nebraskans want wind energy development [for] economic opportunity…[R]ural Nebraska needs every opportunity it can get…to at least stem the tide of population decline…[and] to give our rural communities chances to revive…If a 100-megawatt project had been built in Madison County, the county and its political subdivisions would have received more than $350,000 in new tax revenues annually…Dozens of short-term jobs and several permanent jobs would have been created. Multiply the impact of that project by other successful projects in the state, and Nebraska will start to see turbine manufacturers setting up plants in the state."

Nebraska has 42.5 times as much wind power as it needs! It could make many many fortunes building its capacity and exporting the electricity. (click to enlarge)

"The one commercial wind tower manufacturer in the state has yet to sell one tower in Nebraska. We need to reverse this trend…Nebraska law, however, does not allow NPPD to consider these economic opportunities…Having NPPD (and other public power districts) consider economic impact would not require each potential project to be built. It would allow economics to be factored in to consideration…

"…[Sometimes] the economic benefits will not outweigh the costs to ratepayers…[but] there will be projects in which the benefits from taxes, jobs and other economic factors will greatly outweigh any incremental increase in rates. NPPD should take on those projects…We should [empower NPPD] to consider economic impact of wind projects. Only by doing so will we realize the full potential of the opportunities our rural communities need."