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Minwind I and II Project
Rock County, Minnesota
Location: South Minnesota
Owner: Local farmers and residents
Capacity: 1.9MW each
Turbines: Micon 950 kW turbine
Online: fall 2002
Developer: Minwind I and II
Cost: $1.6 million each
Minwind I and II, one of the first farmer-owned projects in Minnesota, went online in the fall of 2002 in Luverne, Rock County.
After extensive research, a farmer’s group formed two limited liability companies, Minwind I and Minwind II. This maximized their ability to use tax credits and other incentives like the Minnesota renewable production incentive that provides $.015/kWh payment for wind projects up to 2MW for the first ten years of production. At the same time, this format maintained the cooperative principles of voluntary and open membership, democratic member control and concern for the greater community.
Sixty-six investors from the region snapped up all the available shares in both companies in 12 days. Eighty-five percent of the shares must be owned by farmers, leaving the rest available for local townspeople and non-farmers. Each share gives the owner one vote in the company and no single person can own more than 15 percent of the shares.
Both companies relied heavily on expertise from consultants to develop the actual wind projects, negotiate the power purchase agreements and determine the business structure. With the shares sold, the companies began development of the two 1.9 MW wind projects. Each project consists of two 950 kW turbines and all four turbines are located on the same farm which is owned by one of the project’s investors. Cost for each project will be $1.6 million and will be paid off in ten years.
The most difficult step in the project was negotiating a power purchase agreement with the rural electric cooperative. Contentious issues included interconnection requirements, cost, and the cooperative’s long-term exclusive agreement with another power supplier. After months of negotiation, Minwind I and II entered into a 15-year contract with Alliant Energy, which will use the power to help satisfy renewable energy standards in Iowa and Wisconsin.
Since the turbines went online, there has been increased interest from area farmers and other potential investors. Research soon begun to locate other potential sites with the possibility of doing much larger projects. Minwind I and II have become a model for farmers to take advantage of economies of scale in developing wind and to promote farmer-owned enterprises by using local materials and contractors.
In December 2004, Minwind Energy dedicated Minwind III-IX, seven new 1.65 MW wind turbines. These turbines are owned by approximately 200 local investors, following the same principles as the original Minwind I and II projects.
References and Additional Information:
Windustry Newsletter, fall 2002
