Wind Today - Q4 2008 - (Page 28) Peter Mallonee works with Orion Energy Group LLC as an owner’s representative at the Benton County Wind Farm. The Benton County Wind Farm is located just east of the Illinois border in Benton County, IN Earl Park, Indiana compatibility of the land as well as unique geographic features such as ridges that create a favorable wind regime. Once those features are identified, the developer needs to figure out who owns the real estate and then talk with landowners. “Landowners as a group are key,” says Hunt. “One of the whole points of building a wind farm is to benefit not just one landowner, but the whole community,” he says. The long-range economic effect of a wind farm on an area makes the community a key part of the development process, he explains. Hunt says he and OEG started contacting landowners in 2004 about developing a wind farm in the Benton County area. In 2006, according to company representatives, OEG sold a portfolio of projects to BP Alternative Energy, Houston, TX, through the sale of Orion Energy LLC. The Benton County Wind Farm and the Camp Grove Wind Farm were part of a portfolio of projects that OEG retained. Construction Construction began on the Benton County Wind Farm on August 15, 2007 and the wind farm became operational on May 7, 2008. RMT WindConnect, Madison, WI (608-662-5197), handled balance of plant (BOP) engineering and construction of the wind farm. Northland Associates, Liverpool, NY, provided concrete services, constructed foundations, and supplied tools and tensioning. Elexco, Seymour, WI, was the electrical contractor taking care of fiber installation and collector system construction. Hooper Construction managed transmission services, including electrical interconnection, and transmission line and substation construction for the six-mile, 138-kV transmission line and substation that interconnects to the electric grid. Hooper worked with RMT WindConnect and GE Energy on the interconnect switchyard construction. Duke Energy of Indiana, Charlotte, NC (704-382-8333), purchases most of the power produced at the wind farm. Duke Energy signed an agreement in August 2006 to purchase up to 100 MW of windgenerated electricity annually from the wind farm for the next 20 years. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved the agreement in late 2006. Vectren Energy Delivery, Inc., Evansville, IN (812-491-4000), purchases the remaining 30 MW. enXco, North Palm Springs, CA, provides operations and maintenance services for the wind farm. Mallonee says one of the challenges during construction of the wind farm resulted from a warm winter. “We had a lot of December rains and then the ground never froze,” says Mallonee. “We had to use dozers to pull trailers carrying the components in to the sites for off-loading,” he says. According to Mallonee, wind turbine components were delivered directly to each site once the foundations had been poured. Boldt Construction, Appleton, WI (920739-6321), erected the wind turbines. “We had two cranes, each one doing three towers a day,” says Mallonee. He says the base and mid-tower were set by a smaller crane, then a bigger, 1600 Manitowac crane erected the top tower section and the nacelle. “The foundations went in on schedule, and most of the components came in on time,” says Mallonee. “Unfortunately, the bases arrived late just before the December rains hit. Once the bases arrived,” Mallonee says, “crews needed to back-track to locations that were waiting on those parts to complete the set.” Mallonee explains that in January, the site was hit with a 100-year storm which flooded the wind farm and nearby towns. Since there had already been rain WIND TODA Y Fourth Quarter 2008 The turbines at the Benton County Wind Farm stand uninterrupted as farmers harvest their corn. 28
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