The hype is definitely around us. The idea of being “green” is in ad campaigns and merchandise sold everywhere. No doubt, as farmers, we love the land as much, or more than anyone. But in hard economic times, where is the value in “going green?”
Wind energy has been presented as an enticing way to recapture costs associated with energy production at your home and farm. You can get a personal wind machine set up on your property, and in some areas of the state people are considering selling their “wind rights.”
Here we investigate some of these wind energy ideas, from the angle of two different sources. Andy Kruse, the vice president of Southwest Windpower, the largest distributor of small wind generators, and Rick Anderson, the energy policy analyst at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, both talked wind energy and the real effects it can have on Missouri’s citizens.
Why Wind at Your Farm?
Kruse and Anderson’s combined reasoning for wind energy at your farm:
1. Interest in being more energy efficient.
2. Interest in energy independence.
3. Rising cost of energy seen around the United States.
4. “Poetry.” People saying “this is something I want to do.”
5. Power reliability problems in an area, wanting a power supply independent of the “grid” or the local utility's lines.
Costs Associated
The initial cost of a residential scale wind turbine at your farm will be around $12,000 to $13,000. Kruse explained that disconnecting from “the grid” will near $3,000 to $4,000 on top of that initial cost. The wind turbines are “designed to be safe for utilities, so anytime the grid goes down, the wind generator has to go down so it doesn’t produce energy when linemen are out working on the lines,” Kruse noted.
Anderson explained owners could use the wind turbines and a bank of batteries, and wind generation would put power into the batteries so in times when the utility system is down the family could generate their own power off the batteries.
Anderson said it is important for individuals to assess the expenses and the returns, if your decision to install a wind generator is for economic reasons.
“The cash outlay to start is large, and they will see some reduction in utility expenditures, but I haven’t found conditions in Missouri where over the life of the wind turbine a landowner can save money with small wind based on the wind speeds we’ve measured and current or reasonable future electric prices," Anderson said.
Returns available
Kruse said the potential for an investment in wind energy to pay for itself comes down to three factors:
1. Installed cost of turbine(s)
2. How much wind your property has
3. What your electric costs are in your area
“Places with higher electric rates, the pay back can be 5 to 7 years, or the pay back could be 15 to 20 years in different sites with lower winds and cheaper electricity,” Kruse said.
The average energy consumption per household is 992 kilowatt hours a month. Assuming a 12 mph average wind and a properly sited wind generator, a Skystream would cover about 40 percent of their monthly electric bill. It all depends on home energy consumption and wind speed," Kruse said.
Anderson suggested the interest in energy independence should be a driving factor more than money you will actually save in a short run that could be 20-plus years. Anderson said when families do the math, they realize they won’t be installing wind turbines because they are going to be saving money on their electricity bill. In Missouri, Anderson said, it is hard to get enough wind to make that feasible.
He warned that literature published on the subject of wind energy might be specific to regions, and not as applicable to a state like Missouri where wind movement is lower and electricity costs are lower too.
“People publish documents with a California publishing house and out there they have expensive electricity and rebates offered on the wind turbines. We don’t have those conditions.” Anderson said you might read where 12 mph winds will make your purchase of a wind turbine economic. “It’s often economic if you’re paying $0.15 per kilowatt hour. If you’re paying $0.08 to $0.09 it may not be,” he explained.
Anderson said that Missouri customers could assume a future higher price for energy to justify a turbine, but asked, “how high do you want to go?”
“I’ve measured (wind speeds in) 36 locations in the last four years. A wind map is great way for people to find out what they’ve got.” Anderson also stated that investing in renewables is a long term commitment. "People should look at it as an investment. You may be better off with a solar or small wind system than your money in the bank earning 4 percent. It is important to do the math,” Anderson said.
And what about wind rights? In areas of the nation where this is feasible, farmers and ranchers can allow large wind companies to set up very large wind turbines on their land. “They can make around $3,000 per machine per year plus royalties,” Kruse noted. But for us Ozarks farmers, as of now our wind speeds are too low for these large-scale operations. Large wind generators generally need 14 mph average or greater winds and easy access to large transmission lines. Small wind turbines however need 11 mph average or greater winds to be effective.
Is a wind generator right for your farm?
Kruse noted that, as a retired rancher himself, he knows a wind system can be integrated into a farm to serve many different needs. Livestock can graze around the turbines, and a farm that is utilizing more energy will see more savings, based on economies of scale.
He also noted that the turbines have a life expectancy of 20 years before you’ll have to begin repairs. If your wind turbine does produce more energy than your home and farm needs, you can sell that energy to the utilities company or receive credits that can be used another day, depending on your state and the utility company's energy policy.
Evaluating wind maps in Missouri, and determining your intentions with installing a wind system are both important steps to take. You will save money on your electric bill with a wind turbine, but will that turbine pay for itself on those savings? One thing is certain, electricity will never get cheaper. Look under “Extended Stories” for wind maps and other organizations' websites on small wind opportunities on the Ozarks Farm & Neighbor website, www.ozarksfn.com.
Anderson and Kruse both agreed that weighing the pros and cons is important when deciding on whether a wind turbine is right for you philosophically and economically.
