Small
Turbines Keep On Turning!
Our Wind Co-op Going Strong in 2004
 |
| Ed Kennell’s 10kW Bergey atop
the wintry Luna Butte. Photo Credit: Ed Kennell. |
Fixed atop Luna Butte, Ed Kennell’s
newly installed Bergey 10 kW wind turbine towers 80 feet above
a cold snow-packed field in the windy heart of Klickitat Valley.
Across the continental divide along the north Montana highline
region, 800 miles away from Goldendale, Washington, you can
find Don Marble of Chester, Montana, admiring Liberty County’s
softly whirling 10 kW Bergey wind turbine, Our Wind Co-op’s
latest addition.
Converging for the Harvest
Despite the geographic distance between
Ed Kennell’s and Don Marble’s sites, their shared
interest in small scale wind turbines and the cooperative
business model has brought them together. Both are new members
of Our Wind Co-op, a project launched by Northwest SEED and
partnering organizations in 2002. At the annual Harvesting
Clean Energy Conference this past January, turbine hosts officially
met together for the first time to discuss the Co-op’s
formal incorporation. Fourth generation Montana cattle rancher
Jess Alger, Co-op President Ed Kennell, Don and Beverly Grim
of Peshastin, Washington, and Liberty County Montana Commissioner
Don Marble traveled to Portland to plan joint “value-added”
green tag marketing efforts and review lessons learned from
each member’s experience.
Face to face, Co-op members, funders, and project
partners representing USDA Rural Development, Northwest Cooperative
Development Center, Climate Solutions and Northwest SEED shared
ideas on the Co-op’s structure and future activities.
Turbine owners compared experiences and exchanged tips on
securing turbine insurance. Future site host Gwen Bassetti
remarked, “I enjoyed the conference. It was a little
like being baptized by total immersion. I certainly emerged
a convert! We are looking forward to moving ahead with our
site’s development.”
 |
| Liberty County’s newly built 10
kW, the third Montana turbine installed as part of Our
Wind Co-op. Photo credit: Don Marble |
Site Development Update
In the weeks leading up to the HCE Conference, Liberty County
completed instal-lation of their 10 kW turbine on an 80-foot
tilt-up tower behind the county shop in Chester, Montana.
This turbine marks the halfway point in the Co-op’s
initial development of ten small-scale wind turbines in the
Northwest. With three in Montana and two in Washington installed,
the process of selecting the remaining five turbines is underway
with prospects in Oregon, Idaho and Washington. Northwest
SEED is still accepting applications for participation in
the Co-op. To download an application, visit: www.ourwind.org/windcoop/pages/feedback.html
OWC “Value-Added”
Green Tags
Our Wind Co-op Green Tags, representing the clean air attributes
of wind energy generation, are “value-added” as
they are derived from small-scale, locally owned wind turbines,
directly benefiting Northwest farmers, rural landowners and
low-income communities. With four turbines up and running
in 2003, Our Wind Co-op generated five Green Tags representing
5000 kWh, all of which were sold in 2003. The Co-op is currently
lining up buyers for the Green Tags produced by the Co-op
during 2004.
Herding the Numbers:
Ourwind.org Gets Makeover
The Our Wind website (www.ourwind.org)
has recently been updated to provide more in depth information
on the Co-op, including a section devoted to turbine performance.
As part of our funding contract with the U.S. Department of
Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, each
turbine is outfitted with extensive equipment that records
the turbine’s power output as well as meteorological
data such as wind speed, direction, and temperature. Collecting
detailed data from several different turbines will provide
new insight into how the systems function in different climatic
regions and applications.
Visit the site profiles (www.ourwind.org/windcoop/pages/profiles.html)
to view data from our installed turbines.
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A Letter From the Founding E.D.:
Northwest SEED Announces Don André
as New Executive Director Dear
Northwest SEED Supporters and Partners,
Together with the Board and staff
of Northwest SEED I am thrilled to announce and welcome to
the organization Don André of Spokane, Washington,
as our recently selected Executive Director of Northwest SEED.
Mr. André, who’s term will begin with Northwest
SEED in June of 2004, is currently the Director of the Spokane
Neighborhood Action Program’s (SNAP) Housing Improvements
Division. During his twenty-year tenure with SNAP, Don’s
efforts have reduced energy consumption and increased self-sufficiency
through local weatherization, rehabilitation, and conservation
education programs. Don is the Director of the Citizen’s
Utility Alliance, a grassroots consumer advocacy group formed
in partnership with SNAP. He is a committed individual and
has been intensely involved in northwest energy issues since
the late eighties, including a term as Chair of the NW Energy
Coalition in 1993-94.
 |
| Newly selected Executive Director Don
André. |
Don André will take the
helm of our Seattle-headquartered organization at an opportune
time. Having managed large staffs and multi-million dollar
complex budgets for other non-profits, Don’s organizational
leadership and experience in developing healthy and sustainable
communities puts him in a position to make a great impact
on the communities we serve. As the healthy growth of the
organization continues to unfold, the selection of Don André
as Executive Director ushers in a new era of collaboration
and investment in on-the-ground projects throughout the region.
As Northwest SEED’s founding
Executive Director I am devoted to ensuring the continued
success of the organization. In my new half time position
here as Director of Community Partnerships, I will focus on
development activities and building strategic alliances. With
our existing talented staff in place and experienced new leadership,
Northwest SEED will continue to make a long term impact on
the communities of the Pacific and Inland Northwest. I look
forward to our continued success and seeing all of you in
the near term.
Heather Rhoads-Weaver
Northwest SEED Executive Director
Sept. 2000 – May 2004
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Regional
Wind Development Guidebook for Communities
Together with the State of Washington
Office of Community, Trade, and Economic Development (CTED),
A World Institute for a Sustainability Humanity (AWISH), the
Energy Trust of Oregon, the Washington Economic Development
Council, and EcoNorthwest, NWSEED is working to develop a
guide book to assist communities in evaluating the costs and
potential benefits of wind power. The guidebook will help
users consider a range of different sized wind projects, and
will include tools to assist communities in estimating potential
local economic impacts such as jobs, business income, property
values, and tax revenues that might result from developing
local wind power resources. This important new resource will
provide new tools for making objective and informed decisions
on the merits of various methods to develop wind power resources.
The guidebook will include case studies of other counties
and an analysis of different ownership models, with beta testing
and release expected in summer 2004.
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2004: The
Year of Energy Independence
Northwest SEED Helps Grow Rural Prosperity
The idea of energy security has
enjoyed inconsistent popularity over the last twenty years,
and has only recently reemerged as a priority in the political
arena. Lawmakers and community leaders are now more seriously
seeking to reduce our dependence on foreign fuel supplies
and to tap into our vast domestic resources of renewable energy.
While the goal of energy independence is not new, this issue
is taking center stage in 2004, making this year a critical
turning point in our nation’s history.
Rural economies in America suffered
significant setbacks in employment and earnings growth between
2000 and 2003, according to the USDA Economic Research Service.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for rural areas
reached 5.9% by the second quarter of 2003 – up from
a low of 4.4% in 2000. In the Western region, this percentage
reached 6.7% by the same time in 2003.1 With the West suffering
the highest unemployment rate in the nation for 11 years and
projections for 2004 indicating another decline year for rural
economies, our region will need a long term boost.
1. Visit USDA’s Briefing
Room for Rural Labor and Education: www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/LaborAndEducation/
An election year brings winds of
change, and this year the winds are stronger than ever. With
thirty-four U.S. Senate seats and all 435 U.S. House seats
up for re-election in 2004, the level of visionary leadership
in the energy security debate will determine the direction
of renewable energy policy in 2005 and beyond. At the local
level, citizens in Washington and Montana will decide on the
next occupant in their respective Governors’ mansions.
In addition to the hundreds of state legislative races and
usual shifts in power during an election year, the potential
for a significant turnover in 2004 makes this year a pivotal
opportunity to set a policy agenda promoting homegrown, clean,
secure energy.
This year, Northwest SEED will
educate community and national leadership about the benefits
of renewable energy with a heightened sense of timeliness.
We will advocate for investments in a renewable energy economy
as comprehensive job growth policy, a strong avenue toward
increasing our national security, and a vehicle for widespread
rural rejuvenation.
The
Nation and the Northwest
At the state and federal levels, Northwest SEED is working
with renewables advocates from across the country to pass
energy legislation, including both incentives and standards,
to stimulate significant economic and market growth in renewable
energy production. Northwest SEED is also collaborating on
nationwide efforts to restore funding to important renewable
energy and Farm Bill programs. Read on to learn about each
issue.
 |
| Randy Smith, a Cashmere based tree fruit
orchardist, is Northwest SEED’s Director of Rural
Affairs. Randy is working with Renew Washington campaign
partners to engage members of the agricultural and rural
utility communities in the effort to bring more renewable
energy to our state. |
Washington
State
With Washington convening a brief sixty-day session this year,
Northwest SEED dedicated much time to working with our partners
in the Renew Washington campaign to ensure that a growing
portion of our state’s electricity needs will be met
by power from local renewable energy sources. As a key member
of the Renew Washington coalition, NWSEED worked this session
to support laws to create financial incentives and regulatory
assurances to promote wind, biomass, solar and other home-grown
renewable energy sources, as well as to increase energy efficiency
throughout the state.
The Renew Washington team enjoyed
several encouraging victories this session. A version of HB
2333, a bill to ensure that the state’s large utilities
gradually increase the percentage of their energy supply met
through renewable energy resources and energy efficiency,
passed out of both the House Technology, Telecommunications
and Energy Committee and the House Appropriations Committee.
The bill ultimately stalled in the House Rules Committee and
failed to reach the floor for a vote, but we made important
progress in highlighting with lawmakers the potential for
economic growth by investing in homegrown, clean energy.
Farmers and rural residents from
throughout the state supported the Renew Washington campaign
by educating their legislators about how they stand to benefit
from biomass, wind, solar and energy efficiency measures that
help improve the bottom line on their farm operations and
aid grid stability in their communities. NWSEED continues
to foster connections between farmers, ranchers and urban
green power supporters to create a strong base of support
for renewable energy policies.
Clean Energy
for America
NWSEED, in collaboration with regional and national advocacy
groups from around the country, continues to work to ensure
that Congress passes energy legislation that includes strong
provisions to support renewable energy development in our
nation. In December, Congress adjourned for their winter recess
without passing comprehensive energy legislation. Now that
Congress is back in session, lawmakers are engaged in various
strategies to try to get a modified version or individual
sections of the energy bill passed in the near future. Of
particular importance to the wind industry is the extension
of the Production Tax Credit currently included in the energy
bill. We are working to ensure that Northwest Congressional
delegates recognize their constituents’ strong support
for renewables and meaningful legislation supporting renewable
energy development.
Federal
Funding for Renewable Energy
The White House’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2005
(FY05) includes some funding for renewable energy and energy
efficiency, but not as much as originally allocated by Congress.
Proposed budget cuts include: $12 million from Farm Bill Section
9006 Renewable Energy System and Energy Efficiency Improvements;
$25 million from USDA Value-Added Producers Grants, intended
to spur development of new uses for agricultural products,
including renewable energy; and $50 million from the Commodity
Credit Corporation Bioenergy Program, which helps ethanol
and biodiesel producers expand production. Our staff and volunteers
are working with regional and national organizations from
across the country to restore funding to these vital rural
development programs. As members of Our Wind Co-op have received
funding for their turbines through two of these programs,
NWSEED understands the importance of this funding to our co-op
members and others in the agriculture and rural renewable
energy sectors.
Visit www.renewwashington.org
for more information about building stronger Washington communities
with renewable energy and energy efficeincy.
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Volunteers
Our volunteers are essential for
us to carry out our mission to promote renewable energy and
economic opportunities in rural areas. We appreciate volunteers’
dedication and the priceless gifts of their time, talents
and resources.
To learn about how you can get involved, visit the volunteer
section of the NWSEED website.
Lisa Van Arsdale
William Falling
Seema Rani Ghosh
Andrea Gomes
Morgan Kimbrough-Struss
Harvey Kramer-Hawks
Dinky Pfeifle
Kristin Seyboth
Vivian Shin
Kevin Snively
Sid Wray
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STRENGTHENING THE RURAL ECONOMY
