Red Barn Wind Project Begins Study Of Power Generation Potential
Posted on 11 August 2009
By John Gore
THE MORNING NEWS
DECATUR — A small number of investors hope to turn wind into energy and cash on the rolling prairie between Decatur and Gentry.
Winds of Change LLC is the lease holding company for a proposed wind farm, dubbed the Red Barn Wind Project, of between eight and 12 wind turbines.
The wind farm could produce 100,000 megawatts of electricity that would be sold to utilities, such Southwestern Electric Company or electric cooperatives. One megawatt can provide electric energy for an average household for one month, according to Nathan Wilson, manager of Winds of Changes.
Some area farmers and ranchers have leased land to Winds Of Change. Landowners Frank Severn and Jimmy Roberts say it sounded like a crazy idea at first.
“But once we looked into it we could see the potential to produce green energy and make money in the process,” Roberts said.
A wind study of the area began July 28 on property owned by Severn. A sonar device from Second Wind is checking the wind speed 600 feet above the ground to determine the amount and velocity of the wind. The test is scheduled to run for a year.
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About $54,000 has been raised locally to fund the study which is estimated to cost $180,000 to $200,000. Wilson said he applied for a $40,000 grant but is seeking other investors.
Once the study is complete and if Winds of Change can raise the estimated $40 million necessary to fund the project, a second limited liability corporation will be formed to operate the wind farm. In 10 years, according to Wilson, investors will own 80 percent of the project.
“What we are trying to do is develop a community-owned wind farm. China is investing millions of dollars in wind farm development in America, but that’s not the investment we want,” Wilson said.
Wilson hopes Wal-Mart, Tyson Foods, Peterson Farms, Simmons and other large businesses will invest in the project.
Two other companies are also studying the possibility of commercial wind farms in the area. Invenergy, a Chicago-based company, is investigating a possible wind farm in Washington County. TradeWind Energy, based in Lenexa, Kans., is testing possible wind farm sites near the Arkansas-Oklahoma border that would include 100 turbines.
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