Wind power, however, will not come without cost - 50 percent more at current rates. Water and Light estimates it now pays about $40 per megawatt hour for traditionally generated power. With wind power, that cost rises to about $60 per megawatt hour.
Wind power, however, will not come without cost - 50 percent more at current rates. Water and Light estimates it now pays about $40 per megawatt hour for traditionally generated power. With wind power, that cost rises to about $60 per megawatt hour.
Answers to some of Columbia’s future energy problems might be blowin’ in the wind. At least, that’s what some city officials are hoping.
Columbia and a Springfield-based electric cooperative are slated to enter into a tentative agreement this week that would bring electricity generated from wind to Columbia by 2008. If the two sides sign a formal contract later this year, it would mark the first time wind would be used a source of power in the city.
"I’m happy the city is moving in the right direction," said Chris Hayday, a local Sierra Club member who helped push through a city proposal mandating a portion of the city’s energy portfolio must come from renewable sources.
"There’s always more that can be done, but you’ve got to …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]Answers to some of Columbia’s future energy problems might be blowin’ in the wind. At least, that’s what some city officials are hoping.
Columbia and a Springfield-based electric cooperative are slated to enter into a tentative agreement this week that would bring electricity generated from wind to Columbia by 2008. If the two sides sign a formal contract later this year, it would mark the first time wind would be used a source of power in the city.
"I’m happy the city is moving in the right direction," said Chris Hayday, a local Sierra Club member who helped push through a city proposal mandating a portion of the city’s energy portfolio must come from renewable sources.
"There’s always more that can be done, but you’ve got to start somewhere," he said.
Columbia officials agree and say the agreement with Associated Electric Cooperative will ensure compliance with the city law, which voters approved by a large margin in 2004. The measure requires the Water and Light Department to make sure that 2 percent of the city’s electricity is derived from renewables by the end of next year.
Associated has partnered with private investors Wind Capital Group and John Deere Wind Energy to purchase power from a 50-megawatt wind farm - the state’s first - near King City in northwest Missouri. The farm’s 24, 2.1-megawatt wind turbines should start producing electricity by the end of the year, a Wind Capital spokesman said Friday.
Under a proposed agreement between the city and the co-op, Columbia would buy 6.3 megawatts of electricity produced by three turbines not yet constructed. A preliminary "memorandum of understanding" will be reviewed by the Columbia City Council at its regular meeting tomorrow, and a power purchase agreement could come before the panel this fall.
Columbia could start receiving wind energy from the farm by 2008, and the city likely will purchase the power for the next 20 years. The cost of the agreement will be about $1 million per year over that time, said Jim Windsor, head of fiscal planning for Water and Light.
"It’s a great opportunity, and it’s neat to be included in the first wind project in the state of Missouri," said Dan Dasho, director of Water and Light. "It’s great because it’s a Missouri resource."
Other city officials also said they were excited about the plan.
Sixth Ward Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe, who in the past has questioned city plans to purchase power from coal-fired plants, said the plan for using wind power in the city is "a start."
"I’d like to see us continue in this direction," Hoppe said. "I think it’s essential and crucial. Hopefully, the city will not only meet its renewable" energy "requirements but exceed them."
Wind power, however, will not come without cost - 50 percent more at current rates.
Water and Light estimates it now pays about $40 per megawatt hour for traditionally generated power. With wind power, that cost rises to about $60 per megawatt hour.
Officials say the wind-power cost should go down as electric transmission technology improves.
"We think this is the best opportunity in the foreseeable future to secure wind energy as a component of our energy portfolio," City Manager Bill Watkins said.
The city council also will consider tomorrow a separate bill that would authorize the purchase of about 3 megawatts of electricity generated from a landfill gas generator in Jefferson City. A similar facility will be built at the Columbia landfill, and both generators could begin providing electricity to the city in 2008.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reach Matthew LeBlanc at (573) 815-1720 or mleblanc@tribmail.com.