"I currently have, in Minnesota, 23,000 megawatts of interconnection requests for wind," says Moeller, who oversees new connections for MISO. Another 23,000 megawatts of future wind power in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin also is in line. In comparison, the entire Twin Cities metropolitan area typically draws about 6,000 megawatts of electricity out of the transmission system. While some have been on record for years, a sudden barrage of requests -- about 22,000 megawatts' worth -- has burst into MISO since Sept. 10. Minnesota's new renewable energy law, probably triggered some.

All those sky-picking fans spinning over the southern Minnesota landscape look like the leading edges of a wind-power boom. ...Delivering the wind-made electricity from the turbine to users in the Midwest could slow -- even stop -- some plans for wind power in this part of the Midwest. For all practical purposes, transmission lines serving the Buffalo Ridge are filled, forcing wind developers to look elsewhere until more lines are installed. But jumping on that line is not a guarantee. In fact, so many wind power projects are requesting space on the Midwest electric network that there is a waiting list -- and it's a long one.

Area residents can give views about a large wind farm proposed for Mower County to state regulators at a local hearing Nov. 20. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will take public comment at the formal hearing at 6 p.m. in Grumpy's Restaurant, 204 Fourth Ave. N.E., Grand Meadow. Administrative Law Judge Steve M. Mihalchick will preside. Xcel Energy is seeking approval of its Grand Meadow Wind Farm, which eventually could grow to 67 wind turbines generating 100.5 megawatts of electricity.

A blustery and windy day outside meant bad news for Carleton College's profits. The college hosts several wind power stations on its Northfield campus. However, one of the turbines needs repair. "That should be spinning at just about maximum power generation," said Rob Lamppa for Carleton College. The problem is the blades of the turbine. They refuse to spin. "It's broken and basically it has a faulty gear box," said Lamppa.

While it is pursuing wind power as a renewable resource -- most recently with a large deal last week -- that source is strictly supplemental, SMMPA spokesman Dan Hayes says. Wind-generated power is available when the wind blows, so it is not always online to ship. SMMPA needs to have enough power available 24/7 to supply its 18 city-owned utility companies and their customers. ...But there are other possibilities for baseline electricity, and SMMPA's chief operating officer, Dave Geschwind, says agency managers now are evaluating them more closely.

“You have a tremendous natural resource here,” Juhl said to a group of business people at a luncheon hosted by the Development Corporation of Austin. “We can't continue to give these huge contracts to these foreign national companies. We are giving away our energy future.” Juhl, a 30-year veteran in the industry, said ownership of wind farms across the United States is concentrated in the hands of a very few corporations that are gobbling up land prime for turbines or renting property at nominal costs. And what they pay for land use, he said, pales in comparison to the money generated from wind power. “We examined the ownership structure, and all are owned by four multi-national companies,” Juhl said. “That's money that leaves the community. We're exporting $60 million to these companies.”

School districts stand to lose thousands of dollars a year under a new law that takes away taxes generated by wind farms. A measure passed the Legislature last session means school districts will no longer benefit from taxes generated by local windmills after June 30, 2009. It's a change that has some southeastern Minnesota school officials angry.

"I was contacted [by the Minnesota Department of Commerce in 2005] about the two turbines in question," said Jim Nichols, a farmer, and wind-energy competitor to Jaunich and former Minnesota agriculture commissioner. "It's pretty easy to cheat and we don't need cheaters in this industry," Nichols said in an interview. "Those two turbines were hardly running during the period that he claimed they were and I said I would be willing to testify to that."

According to a 2005 search warrant and affidavit filed in connection with this week's grand jury indictment, Jaunich inflated the electricity generated by a project he developed and managed in Shaokatan Township in Lincoln County called NAE Shaokatan Power Partners. ...The Commerce Department was alerted to the power-production disparity by a wind turbine investor in the area, according to the charges. And a former service technician of Jaunich's company, Northern Alternative, told state regulators that the Shaokatan Power production monthly figures had been inflated.

The project will consist of up to 200 turbines and is expected to come online in three or four phases over five years, beginning in 2009.

Wind is apparently a hot commodity in the Kenyon area. Just months after the state approved a nine-turbine wind farm in Kenyon and Cherry Grove townships, a company has expressed interest in harvesting wind energy from that same region. Goodhue County commissioners on Thursday approved a conditional-use permit allowing Horizon Wind Energy to construct a temporary meteorological test pole in Kenyon Township.

Mower County will get $420,000 from a wind-energy company for road damage during the construction last year of 43 turbines north of Taopi. County Coordinator Craig Oscarson told the county board on Tuesday that FPL Energy had agreed to the amount during talks with county leaders. The payment will cover damage done to county-owned and county-state-aid roadways, specifically Mower County Road 8, he said. It's a typical agreement for wind-farm projects, Oscarson said.

ST. PAUL - It could be years before many Minnesotans see the impact of a series of energy-related laws that soon go into effect. Lawmakers and Gov. Tim Pawlenty agreed on what was described as historic renewable energy and conservation legislation earlier this year, and major components become law Wednesday. A renewable energy standard requires most utilities to derive a quarter of their electricity production from renewable sources - including wind, solar and hydroelectric generation - by 2025. Xcel Energy has a tougher mandate. Ratepayers will not notice a difference in their electricity bills. A provision included in the law is meant to prevent significant price hikes for consumers. There is an effort to push renewable energy initiatives, but not at the expense of cost or reliability, said Ed Garvey, deputy commissioner at the Department of Commerce.

The United States is expected to be home to an anticipated 49,000 MW of installed wind-power capacity by 2015, making it the world's largest wind-power producer, according to a recent report. Developers are expected to invest more than $65 billion between 2007 and 2015 in wind-power facilities, researchers say.

WILLMAR - Preliminary work is continuing on the Willmar Municipal Utilities' proposed wind energy project. "We're still moving forward with the project,'' said Bruce Gomm, utilities general manager, in a report Monday to the Municipal Utilities Commission. A study by Jon Folkedahl of Folkedahl Consulting of Willmar has recommended Ridgewater College and Willmar Senior High School as sites for the turbines, and Folkedahl has recommended two turbines be constructed at each site.

The utilities also argue that the drive for alternative sources of energy -- chiefly wind turbines -- requires more transmission lines to move electricity from the breezy bluffs of rural southwest Minnesota to customers in urban areas.

NEW ULM - A few years from now, District 88 may begin to reap some benefits from wind energy. The school district is registered as an "interested party" in a federally funded program that would potentially provide it with a revenue source from the sale of wind energy produced at a wind farm in western Minnesota, Superintendent Harold Remme told the Board of Education last week. The school district will be participating in a Phase II grant process facilitated by Johnson Controls. All costs associated with the project are covered by a federal grant. The grant will pay for 10-year interest-free bonds to fund the wind farm project.

Anticipating a higher demand for wind energy, Benton County is making it easier for landowners to erect taller windmills. The county board Tuesday changed its land-use ordinance to allow the county's planning commission to decide how tall an energy-producing wind turbine can be. Previously, the ordinance set strict limits on how tall such structures could be - generally no higher than 100 feet in industrial areas and 60 feet in business or farm areas. Exceptions required a variance from the Board of Adjustment. The rule change removes the limit, allowing the planning commission more flexibility when deciding appropriate height, said Chelle Benson, county development director.

The Mower County Planning Commission has endorsed the first farmer-owned wind farm cooperative in Mower County. It may also be one of the first wind energy ventures in the state by farmers who want to invest in producing electricity by wind energy and selling it themselves. The key words are "farmer-owned."

The first major wind turbine project in Yellow Medicine County has received approval from the county commissioners. During the Yellow Medicine County board meeting Tuesday, the board voted to approve the proposed project that would see 20 megawatts developed in Fortier Township near Canby. Jeff Hemish of Canby received support from the Yellow Medicine County Planning and Zoning board during the June 19 meeting which helped get the 20- megawatt project approved by the county commissioners. The 20-megawatt project will be spread over 10 wind turbines Hemish said.