Colorado Probes Wind Energy at State's Ag Operations

Wind turbines can be cost-effective on farm, Colorado study reveals.

Compiled by staff

Published: Aug 24, 2010

A new study funded in part by the Colorado Department of Agriculture's Advancing Colorado's Renewable Energy grant, finds that wind turbines can be cost-effective even at sites with moderate wind speeds.

"This study is encouraging for Colorado agricultural producers who want to harness wind energy but are not located in areas with strong wind resources," says CDA Market's Division Director Tom Lipetzky.

A site with a marginal wind source is classified by the National Renewable Energy Lab as having an average wind speed of between 13.2 and 15 miles per hour at fifty meters above the ground.

A 30% federal tax credit, available for wind turbines up to 100 kilowatts in size, typically lowers payback times by four to six years, the study reveals. Utilizing the tax credit can make wind turbines economical at sites with marginal wind sources, says Lipetzky.

The study by Brink, Inc. – an Erie, Colo.-based environmental consulting company, included on-site wind speed monitoring at three agricultural operations located in Elbert, Morgan and Yuma counties. On-site wind speed data is compared with NREL's Colorado 50 meter wind resource map.

The cost and output of several different wind turbines, along with the availability of the tax credits, loans and USDA grants were reviewed to determine their effects on wind turbine payback time frames.

The report, Wind Resource Evaluation at Colorado Agricultural Operations, finds that:

The 30% federal tax credit can largely offset loan interest cost or reduce simple payback times by about five years.

Limits on cost-share funding and federal tax credit eligibility tend to make smaller turbines more economically feasible than larger, more efficient turbines.

Turbine payback times ranged from 4-23 years.

All wind turbines are not equally efficient at producing electricity. Buyers should examine the ratio of turbine and tower cost versus electricity output to determine the best turbine fit.

Besides electricity, wind turbines also produce Renewable Energy Credits which have value to companies and individuals seeking to purchase greenhouse gas offsets.

Some Cooperative Electric Associations pay for customer-generated RECs while others claim the rights to consumer-generated RECs.

A wind turbine with a 15-year payback time frame will produce a return on investment of about 3% annually, assuming a turbine life span of 30 years.

NREL's Colorado 50 meter wind resource map is generally adequate to use when estimating small wind turbine outputs, as long as adjustments are made for tower height differences.