READING BETWEEN THE (POWER) LINES
Note from the BPWI Research Nerd: Lobbyists and wind developers tell the media that wind projects are being cancelled in our state because of the 'uncertain' regulatory environment, resulting in headlines in the press and on the web like this:
"TURBINE SETBACK RULE SOUNDS DEATH KNELL ON WISCONSIN'S WIND INDUSTRY"
DEVELOPER PULLS PLUG ON WISCONSIN WIND FARM OVER POLICY UNCERTAINTY
LARGE WISCONSIN WIND FARM KILLED BY POLITICS
Similar headlines came when Wisconsin utility, Alliant, recently announced it was cancelling its plans for a wind project in Green Lake County.
WALKER'S WAR ON WIND ENERGY CLAIMS ANOTHER VICTIM
THIRD LARGE WISCONSIN WIND PROJECT CANCELLED DUE TO LEGISLATIVE ACTION
WISCONSIN WIND RESTRICTIONS COST UTILITY $5 MILLION
The story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel began like this:
"Moves to restrict wind farm development in Wisconsin led a Madison utility to take a $5 million charge, citing the difficulty of being able to build the project in Green Lake and Fond du Lac counties."
The '$5 Million dollar charge' appears to be the price paid for the project by Alliant to Florida Power and Light (now known as NextEra) a company with a history of coming into our state to sign up landowners to host wind projects and then selling the leases to utilities. (Apparently undeterred by Wisconsin's 'uncertain regulatory climate' a developer for NextEra is currently prospecting for wind rights in Rock County's Spring Valley Township.)
The purchase of the FPL/NextEra project was reported in March 2009 by Journal Sentinel this way:
"The Madison utility holding company has reached an agreement with NextEra Energy Resources, a unit of FPL Group Inc., to buy wind power from NextEra under a 25-year contract. Under the deal, Alliant also would buy development rights to a future wind farm in the Green Lake area, utility spokesman Rob Crain said....Though specific details about the pricing terms to buy wind power from NextEra are confidential, Crain said, "These are reasonable and cost-competitive projects."
Although the cancellation of the Alliant/NextEra project has been portrayed in the media as another example of Wisconsin politics driving out wind development, the following article sheds light on the real reason Alliant decided to take the $5 million dollar hit and pull out of the project.
Alliant spokesman, Steve Shultz seemed to contradict himself when asked about the reason behind the cancellation of the project.
To Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he said:
"The $5 million charge is in recognition of the fact that it will be much more difficult to build the wind farm given uncertainty in the state’s wind siting requirements, said utility spokesman Steve Schultz."
To The Ripon Press he said:
Schultz emphasized the Green Lake-area wind farm was never a concrete plan or proposal, but rather a possibility.
“At no point have we had any timeline or any specific plan as to say, ‘We’re going to build a wind farm here at such-and-such a date,’” he said.
The article below tells us even more--
ALLIANT PASSES ON LOCAL WIND FARM
READ THE ENTIRE STORY AT THE SOURCE: RIPON PRESS
May 18, 2011
By Aaron Becker
Explaining why Alliant has abandoned the area development rights, Schultz said the Madison-based utility has reached its “renewable portfolio standard” for the state.
“We’re exceeding that, actually,” he said. “And at this point in time, we don’t see that that requirement is going to increase in the near future.”
Alliant Energy has decided not to pursue a significant wind-turbine farm near Green Lake.
In 2009, the utility company bought development rights from NextEra Energy Resources for a region around the Green Lake-Fond du Lac county line, with the idea of a possible wind farm in the future.
If developed, it may have accommodated about 60 turbines. But this month, the company announced it nixed that idea.
“We’re essentially discontinuing those development rights,” Alliant Energy spokesman Steve Schultz said.
This means Alliant has taken a $5 million loss — the cost to purchase the rights.
This cannot be recouped via utility charges. It just goes down as a loss, he explained.
The decision also means the wind energy rights to that area now are fair game for any other company, Schultz said.
It’s not out of the question that another company may be or become interested, as Alliant previously had noted the Green Lake area as having a “strong wind regime,” thanks in part to Big Green.
Explaining why Alliant has abandoned the area development rights, Schultz said the Madison-based utility has reached its “renewable portfolio standard” for the state.
“We’re exceeding that, actually,” he said. “And at this point in time, we don’t see that that requirement is going to increase in the near future.”
Schultz emphasized the Green Lake-area wind farm was never a concrete plan or proposal, but rather a possibility.
“At no point have we had any timeline or any specific plan as to say, ‘We’re going to build a wind farm here at such-and-such a date,’” he said.
Rather, it was a “potential future development,” he said.
Still, it probably would have been a large wind farm, had it come to pass.
“What we had determined was that the site would accommodate about 100 megawatts ... Probably in the range of 60 turbines,” Schultz said.
As of 2010, Wisconsin was home to nine commercial wind farms, with more than 400 megawatts of wind power capacity, according to the Alliant Energy website.
In this region, Fond du Lac County and northeastern Dodge County are home to five of those nine sites. Turbines can be seen from Highway 41.
“Wind power is the fastest-growing energy source in the world,” the website reads.
Wisconsin Power & Light — a subsidiary of Alliant — operates the Cedar Ridge Wind Farm in Fond du Lac County.
The 68-megawatt wind farm began producing emissions-free energy in 2008. The company’s second wind farm, the Bent Tree Wind Farm in Freeborn County, Minn., began commercial operation in February.
“Just because we’re not going to continue the development rights in Green Lake doesn’t mean we’re not committed to renewable energy,” Schultz said.