Caledonia Argus

Group hears about wind power at school

Posted: 2/17/04

By David Heiller
Argus News Editor

The Caledonia School District is testing the breeze on whether it could use wind energy as a source of electricity.

Thatís why Independent School District 299 and the Southeastern Minnesota Development Corporation organized a wind information meeting at the high school on February 11.

Wes Slaymaker, an engineer for Windustry in Minneapolis, talked about the pros and cons of the concept to 14 people at the 90-minute session.

Tri-County Electric Cooperative President Brian Krambeer also spoke for about 10 minutes on the co-opís perspective.

The subject will now go back to the school board, which will decide how to pursue it. Their next meeting is February 23 at the elementary school cafeteria at 7 p.m.

One thing emerged clearly from last weekís meeting: wind energy for the school district is a complicated subject that will take a lot of time and research.

The first thing that will need to be done is to monitor wind speed for six months to see if there is enough wind to justify a generator.

Slaymaker said Windustry, a private consulting company in Minneapolis, would be willing to do that at no charge. A minimum average wind speed of about 14 miles per hour would be required. He felt that with a 200-foot-high tower, the site by the school at Caledonia would meet that requirement.

Slaymaker will also help research any conflicts that the tower would have with the Houston County Airport, which is located about two miles south of the school.

The project would likely be dependent on state and federal incentives, and low interest loans, which might make it financially feasible, Slaymaker said.

The entire process could take two to three years, he told The Argus on February 12. He estimated eight months for wind data set up and gathering; a year for financing; and four to six months to order equipment and build it.

ìTheyíre all just scenarios at this point,î he said.

School board member Chuck Schulte, who spearheaded the meeting, said that cooperation from the power company, financial incentives, and issues with the tower and airport are all key factors.

ìAnyone of those not working would be enough to kill the project,î he said on February 12.

The school district paid $188,000 for electricity in 2003. Schulte feels that that high demand, much of which comes from the 135 ground source heat pumps that help heat and cool the building, would make the district a good candidate for self-generated wind power.

Power generated at the site would probably be fed into a nearby sub-station and sold to Tri-County Electric. Tri-County buys its power from Dairyland Power, Krambeer said, and Dairyland would want to be involved in the project if it progresses.

He said the co-op supports renewable energy, and would welcome the opportunity to buy energy. ìItís a good piece of the puzzle that we want to incorporate,î he said.

But the competitive nature of the industry is putting the purchase price at two-and-a-half to three cents per kilowatt hour, he added. That might not be enough to pay for the project without additional subsidies and incentives.

He also felt it would be difficult for the City of Caledonia to lose the revenue from the school electricity usage. He noted that the city promoted the geo-thermal heating system at the school and paid for transmission lines to the new site, which is on the northwest edge of the city.

He urged the district to do a feasibility study before making any investment.

Caledonia City Administrator Bob Burns said he was there to listen and learn. One question he had was on zoning for a 200-foot-high tower.

Schulte said that maybe the school district and the city could get involved in the project.

Asked how loud the turbine would be, Slaymaker said the best way to answer that would be to go to one of a similar size and listen to it. He said it makes a whooshing sound.

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