Blowing Into the Future of Renewable Energy

Idaho powers up for one of the largest portfolios of wind farms in the Pacific Northwest.

By Dani Smith

Turning away from fossil fuels and looking toward sustainable energy, Idaho is out to prove that energy harnessed through renewable sources is the future of energy, with its recent late-January 2011 completion of the Idaho Wind Partners Project. Located in South Central Idaho along the Oregon Trail, the new project is the largest wind portfolio Idaho has seen to date.

Development phases started in 2004, and the project as a whole consists of 11 separate farms stretched out across 10,000 acres of farmland - eight of which are located in Hagerman and three located approximately 70 miles away in Burley.

Using 122 of GE's 1.5 megawatt-hours (MW) turbines, the combined farms have the capacity to produce 183 MW - enough to power up to 39,700 Idaho homes - and will collectively remove the equivalent of 331,000 short tons a year in greenhouse gas emissions. "By offering an alternative to other forms of fossil-fuel power generation, the project represents a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the removal of 57,000 cars from off the road," Steve Eisenberg, managing director of Reunion Power LLC, one of the owners and the managing partner of the project, said.

According to Reid Jurgenson, corporate manager for Fagen Inc., the turbine construction portion of the project was completed in just 111 calendar days. The first turbines were delivered in August 2010 and the last were erected in December 2010. "It was a fun project to erect 122 turbines in a short duration, and we got it accomplished on time and on schedule," he said. At the peak of the project's construction, 250 workers pulled together to complete the wind farm, and using a National Renewable Energy Laboratory model, a project this size would typically support the equivalent of 2,200 full-time jobs in operations and maintenance the year after the project is complete and 25 permanent full-time jobs after that.

While constructing the 10,000-acre project, significant obstacles could not bring the project to a halt. "There were a couple of lightning strikes that started a 300,000- acre grass fire, and the project was in the middle of it," Jurgenson said. "It [the fire] burned itself out, and we sprayed water on our equipment to make sure it didn't affect the project and moved on," he continued.

Besides nature's wrath, the project went smoothly; however, financing the approximately $500 million project wasn't without its challenges. "In the midst of the recession and tight liquidity, financing of the project posed a potential challenge," Eisenberg informed. The farm was completed under budget and is now expected to qualify for the Federal Treasury Grant program, a program designed to stimulate renewable energy projects.

Fortunately, the original developer for the project, Boise-based Exergy Development Group, did an exceptional job in securing power purchase agreements, as well as developing the 11 distinct project sites, and was able to bring in GE Energy Financial Services as a partner, and then Reunion Power and Atlantic Power - the company's first dabble in wind energy.

"It was a great opportunity to join a strong team and project using a very reliable turbine with strong local support, and so our shareholders and our analysts are very pleased that this wind project, for us, adds to a growing portfolio of renewable assets," Barry Welch, president and chief executive officer of Atlantic Power, disclosed.

With the addition of Atlantic Power, the Idaho Wind Partners project was formed and is comprised of managing member Reunion Power and non-managing members GE Financial Services, Exergy Development Group and Atlantic Power. The four companies worked together to build one of the largest wind farms in the Pacific Northwest as Idaho Wind Partners 1 LLC.

"GE worked closely with the Exergy team to close out remaining development activities and to secure the financing for a time-sensitive project," Tim Howell, managing director, power and renewable energy at GE Energy Financial Services, expressed.

All of the power generated from the wind farm will be sold to Idaho Power Company in 20-year agreements, and because of this, the state will benefit in the long run. "These wind farms will help ensure stable energy prices for Idaho - approximately 500 million MW a year at prices set by contract, which means there will be no future price volatility," Eisenberg said.

As the turbines along the Oregon Trail provide power to thousands of homes in Idaho, the gem state is catching up with renewable neighbors Oregon, Washington and Montana in an effort to support the movement for clean energy.

Dani Smith is an assistant editor at American Infrastructure. She may be contacted at dsmith@penpubinc.com.