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The Legislature advanced a bill Thursday that would allow landowners to own the right to the winds that turns windmill generators. A bill – LB 629 -- to create “community based energy developments” was unanimously approved by the Legislature during the first of three readings. It sets a way for farmers and small towns to join together to build a "field" of wind generators and keep the rights to the wind, instead of selling those rights to private turbine developers. The goals is for farms and local power companies to pitch in together to capture economies of scale. A wind generator typically pays for itself in 10 years and could generate profits for another 10-20 years before it wears out, said John Hansen of the Nebraska Farmer’s Union. Good timing Nebraska is ripe for wind turbines. It is the sixth windiest state in the United States. More wind blows in Nebraska than in 38 other states combined, said Dave Rich, the renewable energy manager for the Nebraska Public Power District, the state’s largest power company. Inquiries regarding windmill generators have nearly doubled since January, Rich said. About a dozen arrive each week. Some people want to discuss a single generator on their land, while others envision large-scale farms with dozens, even hundreds, of generators placed across the hills. Private companies are involved in the largest projects, although at least one “C-BED” project is nearly lined up. The money tends to stay in the local area if turbines are community owned. A federal study estimates C-BED wind energy projects create 2.6 times as many local jobs as projects developed by outside investors. C-BED projects are relatively common in Minnesota. They have stimulated three times as much local economic development as those from outside investors. “If we do this right, the winds will expand Nebraska’s economic and income base, bring kids back home and keep farmers and ranchers on the land. The potential earnings are enormous,” said John Hansen of the Nebraska Farmer's Union. Single wind turbines At present, it is not financially rewarding for individuals to install a single wind generator. Nebraska’s electric rates are generally so low that it takes several windmills to generate a tidy profit. In speaking about single wind generators, Rich compared it to buying a hot tub. “You might build one because it makes you feel good,” he said. Rich said NPPD analyzes all kinds of wind projects – big, small, private or semi-pubic – from the same perspective. NPPD is most interested in what it would cost to buy the wind-electricity, and concerned about the cost of transmission lines to carry the power into the grid. Large transmission lines are expensive to construct, costing from $250,000 to $1 million a mile, he said. The one C-BED project that is already planned is in Knox County, in far northeast Nebraska, Hansen said. Participants have been lined up for nearly a year, but a Legislative bill is needed to make the project a “go” – clarifying a framework for cooperation so the entity can borrow money, receive tax credits and do business. Rich said it takes an averaage of two years to develop a wind turbine project, with several months of planning and a year or more for construction. the Knox County project has been discussed for two years, Hansen said. Other private company developments are under consideration in Custer, Cherry, Brown and Antelope counties.
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