Communities that the wind industry have engaged and been in communication with may be the best sites for future wind development, speakers said this month at the American Wind Energy Association fall symposium in Chandler, AZ. Targeting customers who want wind makes a big difference, said former Iowa Governor Chet Culver. With many large utilities already meeting state renewable portfolio standards, community wind could be the next market in the second-largest wind-producing state in the U.S. "That's the next exciting phase for Iowa, the small community wind opportunities," Governor Culver said. "Yes, we need the federal policies to help the industry, but [at the state level] we don't have near the partisanship or the frustration and the length of time it takes to get things done at the federal level. You can really get a lot done working with cities and counties." In a nutshell, Culver said, the industry's new motto should be, "It's the state, stupid." OwnEnergy, a Brooklyn, NY-based community wind developer, is already partnering with landowners in Iowa who have been interested in getting a project built for years, CEO Jacob Susman said in an interview. Ten farmers in Carroll, IA, have been planning the Carroll Area Wind Farm for about seven years, Susman said. They reached out to OwnEnergy when they were ready to partner with a developer and move toward construction. "It's just a great story, 10 farmers who saw wind development around them wanted to do this on their own," he said. The project is set to begin construction in 2013. But community owners are not the only market that OwnEnergy sees opening up for wind developers as utility-scale wind becomes less popular. Publicly owned power makes up the majority of electricity providers in the U.S., though they provide electricity on a much smaller scale than major utilities. They are typically not subject to renewable mandates and may have to buy the power that their members want. According to OwnEnergy CFO Ray Henger, electric cooperatives and municipal power are the X-factor. "They typically buy renewable power, not because they have to, but because they want to," Susman said. "And there are two reasons why they would want to: either their members tell them they have to, or because it's the best value. We're starting to see a lot of those guys coming into wind and procuring wind, not because someone is standing there with a stick, but because of the carrot."
Wind developers are reaching out to these new markets because, in many states, there has been a surge in renewable-energy development for utilities that must meet RPS mandates. Renewable generation capacity in the U.S. has reached a level that is higher than the amount currently in demand, according to a presentation by Tanuj Deora, director of energy and environment at IHS Energy Insight. "Wind energy is a victim of its own success," Deora said. "We're ahead of these [renewable energy standard] requirements. We've built more than we need." In doing so, the wind industry has gone through a golden age of development, according to Barrett Stambler, vice president of Iberdrola SA's U.S. subsidiary, Iberdrola Renewables. "The last five years I would categorize, at least in my renewable career, as the golden age of wind," Stambler said. "Investor-owned utilities have purchased enough power to meet their needs for 2020. Natural gas and other competitive sources have come down in price, meaning that the spread or the challenges between selling a renewable product versus a natural-gas product makes many people reconsider whether that's a decision they want to make." Another advantage of wind development is that it may cost less than retrofitting coal plants, according to Rachel Shimshak, director of the RNP (Renewable Northwest Project). The Northwest has a strong tradition of renewable energy standards and incentives for developing renewables. The RNP is working on influencing utilities in the region to begin retiring their coal plants and to choose renewables when they do. "Is it cheaper to retrofit them to meet Clean Air Act standards or is it cheaper to use renewable energy?" Shimshak asked. "Renewable energy is the least-cost, least-risk resource. It's stable cost for the long term, just like a 30-year mortgage. There's no fuel cost, so there's no volatility. And customers like it. It's what your customers want you to do." American Wind Energy Association OwnEnergy IHS Energy Insight Iberdrola Renewables Renewable Northwest Project
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