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Spirit Lake Community Schools
Wind Energy Project
Spirit Lake, Iowa
Location: Northwest Iowa
Owner: Spirit Lake Community School District
Capacity: 1MW
Turbines: Windworld 250kW and MEG Micon 750kW
Online: 1993 (250kW) and 2001 (750kW)
Developer: Minnesota Wind Power of Marshall
Cost: $1,019,500
The Spirit Lake Community School District has taken advantage of the wind resources blowing across the grounds of its school yards by becoming the first school district in the US to use wind power as a primary energy source.
The district received a grant from the Department of Energy and a low-interest loan from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to fund the purchase and installation of a 250kW turbine in 1992. The 250kW wind turbine was built behind the playground of the district's elementary school and came online in 1993. The second turbine was 750kW and was financed with an interest-free loan from the Iowa Energy Center and a low-interest loan from the IDNR. The second turbine came online in the fall of 2001 and now powers all of the remaining buildings in the school district.
The first turbine supplies electricity directly to the elementary school. The second turbine is fed directly into the electricity grid. With a net-billing arrangement, the district purchases electricity from the local utility (Alliant Energy) for $.08/kWh in times of peak demand or low-wind and sells electricity back to the utility at a rate of $.06/kWh when the wind power is in excess of the school's demand.
The first turbine was paid off by 1998 and since then it has made revenues from selling electricity, which has gone towards the school's educational programs. The second turbine will be paid off in 2007. Including the revenue gained by selling excess electricity ($8,000/year), the turbines will offset about $120,000 in electricity costs each year.
Since the first turbine went online, the school district has performed most of the maintenance and has monitored its power production. And the district has had over 400 visitors to see the turbines and learn from the district's experience in promoting wind. A number of schools in the area and their students have shown particular interest in the project as they study the use of renewable sources of energy.
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