The Kenmare News

By Caroline Downs

Area residents had their first chance to hear about the Green Power Express last week during meetings held in Kenmare, Berthold, Bowbells and Minot with Curt Johnson, a principal of Hartland Wind Farm, and Joe Dudak, vice president in charge of special projects with ITC Holdings of Novi, Michigan.

After Johnson offered an overview of the proposed 2,000 megawatt Hartland Wind Farm project in Ward, Burke and Mountrail counties, he introduced Dudak and the Green Power Express.

“What does the Green Power Express mean to us?” Johnson asked. “It is a major, major part of this project. We knew we had a great resource in the wind. More important are the people in this area and those who have committed [to the project] so far. But without the Green Power Express, the economic opportunity wouldn’t exist.”

Dudak made his first trip to the northwest corner of North Dakota last week and spent time visiting directly with landowners as well as talking with newspapers, radio broadcasters and TV news reporters about ITC and the concept of the Green Power Express. 

“We are a federally regulated utility that does only transmissions investment,” he said, describing the upstart ITC Holdings, which began operations in 2003 and oversees 15,000 miles of transmission lines in Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri. “We move energy resources from sellers to buyers, and we wanted to grow where renewable energy needed a champion.”

He compared ITC’s vision to the concept of a superhighway, maintaining an independent service for other utilities to transport power.

“We’re nationally scoped,” he said. “That means we don’t have a territory like many companies do. We have to interphase with the local utilities.”

Dudak emphasized the need for energy projects, like the proposed Hartland Wind Farm, to have a way to ship their power to larger markets as North Dakota continues to develop and export energy. “The load for the whole state of North Dakota is something like 2,000 megawatts,” he said. “Think about that. When Hartland Wind Farm is fully developed, it could power the entire state of North Dakota.”

The Green Power Express project would assist North Dakota’s energy producers by providing a network transmission lines covering 3,000 miles. The project would cross seven states and several utility service territories, with an estimated construction cost of $12 billion for substations and the high voltage (765,000 volt) lines.

According to Dudak, no 765 kilovolt lines currently exist in the midwestern region of the country. “We propose to expand that through the Dakotas, move the energy to Chicago where we would tie in to the existing [high voltage transmission] network to get this power to the East Coast. You could sell energy in West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, wherever, and the price is probably three times what we pay here.”

The western side of the project extends into northwestern North Dakota, with the capacity to support over 20,000 megawatts of new wind generation, as well as power from other sources.

Dudak described the current transmission system as developing around clusters of customers over the decades, without a large-scale, comprehensive plan. “The system acts like islands with extension cords,” he said. A project focused on the national scale, such as the Green Power Express, would have the capability to transport power from several sources and prevent or reduce brown-outs and black-outs, such as those experienced in areas with heavy power usage.

He compared the plan to the idea of farmers trying to transport grain to market if they were restricted to dirt roads. “We can improve the transmission grid by putting in a superhighway,” he said.

* * * 

Dudak and Johnson agreed that construction of the first phase of Hartland Wind Farm and of the Green Power Express could occur in such a manner that transmission would be available when the new wind turbines were operational. Dudak also noted that ITC was interested in building transmission capacity to meet their customers’ needs. “If more customers want to participate, we’ll enhance the size we have proposed now,” he said.

According to Dudak, ITC can be prepared to break ground on the project by February 2011. Various engineering, permitting, siting and other processes are underway, but one major factor is the $20 billion price-tag, which ITC would like to see paid by all the customers who benefit from the power, not just by the energy producers. 

“Transmission is five percent of the delivered price of electricity,” Dudak said. “We believe the cost for this should be spread over the customers in the 36 states that would receive the power, to the tune of cents per month on your electric bill.”

No project of this magnitude has been done before, and a rate change to absorb the cost of new transmission would require federal and state action. “I’m up here looking for your help at the next stages of this process,” Dudak said. “When this comes before the North Dakota Public Service Commission, we’ll want letters of support.”

He continued, “This is the least-cost solution for building out the grid. The high voltage network makes that large of a system twice as cost effective as the next largest system. If we’re planning for the long-term, this big fix is the right thing.” 

He mentioned the impact of the 22 letters provided by landowners in South Dakota when ITC completed their first filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last spring. “That made an impression with them,” he said.

Dudak and his associates are already cooperating with the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) and the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO), both of which have given initial approval for the project. “We’ve talked with the governors of South Dakota and North Dakota, and they’ve agreed to support us,” Dudak said. “Each of the public utility commissions supports us. We need to work at convincing Congress and FERC that you shouldn’t pay for the line by yourself.” 

He also mentioned the importance of cooperation with existing utilities, all of which would benefit from the Green Power Express. “This line will remain independent,” he said. “We expect to partner with at least 22 utilities involved in North Dakota and South Dakota, but this is the first project this big ever proposed. We’re pushing the envelope on getting this project across.”

He explained that as mandated by FERC, the high voltage transmission line would have to take any customer that is a qualified generator of power, whether from wind, coal, natural gas, solar or other means. 

* * * 

Johnson kept his comments brief, announcing that the project had grown to more than 115,000 acres with 200 landowner documents returned.

He noted Hartland Wind Farm’s commitment to paying the increased taxes that will result from the placement of turbines. “You put up one turbine at $4 million and that $25,000 in taxes per year,” he said. “We’re going to work to get these dollars back into the areas that are impacted [by Hartland Wind Farm] the most.”

He also took a few moments to review several changes for wind developers as outlined in HB1509 and signed into law by Governor Hoeven. The new laws, most of which were standard procedure for Hartland Wind Farm, take effect by August 1, 2009. Johnson said landowners who already signed with the project would be receiving updated communications from his office regarding any impact resulting from the legislation.

Johnson and Dudak discussed further plans for coordinating construction of the wind turbines and transmission lines. Johnson and Craig Swenson, another principal with Hartland Wind Farm, explained that while things may appear quiet at the present time, the company has been busy with the permitting, design and engineering aspects of the project. “Our schedule right now is to start Phase I by mid-April 2011,” Johnson said. “We would finish that first 500 to 800 megawatts by December 2012.”

ITC’s plan for beginning construction in North Dakota in the spring of 2011 calls for finishing a line to transmission during the first quarter of 2013, just in time to send wind-generated electricity to market.

“We take on the interconnection costs, and that responsibility, as part of the system. We can afford that,” Dudak said. “We’re separate companies, but we’ve got to work together to get the timing to come out. We’ll need help to get that energy and make sure it moves.”

The first steps in transforming the Green Power Express from a proposal to reality have been taken, with the rate detail already filed with FERC. Dudak said ITC continues to work at partnering with utilities that would be involved in supplying power and to coordinate plans and operations with MISO. ITC intends to file a siting application with the North Dakota PSC by the end of December and to keep communicating the need for a change in the cost allocation of the project to members of Congress and FERC with the goal of new legislation regarding electric rates.

Dudak emphasized the significance of educating the public about the Green Power Express as he described his communications with state officials and legislators, tribal leaders, landowner groups and developers in North Dakota and South Dakota. He invited individuals and organizations to contact him with any further questions or to make a presentation about the Green Power Express.

Persons interested in more information about the Green Power Express, or in providing letters of support for the project, can contact Dudak by mail at Joseph Dudak, Vice President, ITC Holdings Corp, 27175 Energy Way, Novi, MI 48377.  He can be reached by phone at 248-946-3568 or 734-395-6974, or by email at jdudak@itctransco.com.

Further details about the Green Power Express can also be found online at www.thegreenpowerexpress.com.

Dudak laughed as he said he truly hoped to be swamped by requests for information and offers of support. “I plan on being in one of the Dakotas every week and give everyone a person to contact,” he said. “I want to hear from landowners. I want to be inundated!”

The Forum - Patrick Springer

A mammoth wind farm proposed for northwestern North Dakota could anchor an electrical “transmission superhighway” if a concept from a major utility is to be viable.

American Electrical Power announced that it is exploring the feasibility of an “extra-high voltage” transmission system to connect major wind developments in the Dakotas with markets in a network ending near Chicago. 

The 765-kilovolt network, with an estimated price tag of $5 billion to $10 billion, would connect to the proposed Hartland Wind Farm in Burke and Mountrail counties of northwestern North Dakota.

The Hartland Wind Farm would have a capacity of 2,000 megawatts, dwarfing even the largest wind projects now generating power in North Dakota.  If approved, plans call for the $4 billion Hartland Wind Farm to begin construction in 2010, with completion about four years later.

“The existing grid is basically saturated and full,” Craig Fink, managing member of Hartland Wind Farm LLC, said Wednesday.

Hartland is part of the 5,130 megawatts of wind projects in service, under construction or pending regulatory approval in North Dakota.  Another large project is the proposed 1,000-megawatt development proposed by FPL Energy northwest of Center, N.D., in Oliver County.

Major wind farms now in the pipeline will require significant expansion of the transmission system, said Commissioner Susan Wefald of the North Dakota Public Service Commission.

Still, she cautioned that the American Electric Power’s transmission proposal, which the utility said is in the “conceptual stage,” would have overcome technical, financial and political challenges to become a reality.

Big transmission projects come with big debates about allocating the costs among far-flung electrical customers and winning approval to route lines, which inevitably spark resistance from landowners, she said.

“These are the questions that are big issues right now in the Midwest,” Wefald said.

Her regulatory counterparts in Illinois have been debating, for instance, about whether it would be better for ratepayers in that state if it would be cheaper to build wind farms closer to home to avoid the costs of transmitting power over long distances.

Nonetheless, major expansions of the transmission system will be required if the nation embraces ambitious mandates for wind and other renewable energy sources, Wefald said.

Robert Harms of Bismarck, chairman of the Upper Great Plains Transmission Coalition, said big projects such as the proposed Hartland Wind Farm and AEP’s possible Midwestern “transmission superhighway” might help to shape policies that have yet to be drafted for revamping the nation’s electrical grid.

Harms agrees that cost allocation questions of new transmission projects are critical to address.

“The consumers in North Dakota don’t want to pay for exporting electricity to Chicago,” he said.

Because North Dakota’s wind resource is so efficient, many wind developers have concluded it is cost-effective to transmit wind power to faraway markets, Harms said.

If built, the “transmission superhighway” being evaluated by AEP to link  wind farms in the Dakotas and neighboring states to Chicago and other eastern markets would be the first extra-high-voltage transmission system west of the Mississippi River, Fink said.

The Hartland Wind Farm will be the catalyst that would boost transmission infrastructure for other projects, he added.

“It’s almost like being an anchor tenant at a strip mall,” Fink said.  “Other wind farms in the Dakotas will benefit from this.”

Readers can reach Forum reporter Patrick Springer at (701)241-5522.

American Electric Power Company Inc. said Tuesday it is considering a multibillion-dollar project aimed at harnessing wind energy through a “transmission superhighway.”

The Columbus-based utility said it is in the conceptual phase of the proposal, which would require construction of more than 1,000 new miles of transmission lines and cost between $5 billion and $10 billion. The 765-kilovolt lines would connect wind farms in the upper Midwest – the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa – to an existing network that ends near Chicago.

“The wind potential in this region cannot be developed unless we build a very efficient transmission superhighway to bring this clean, renewable generation to population and electricity load centers,” AEP CEO Michael Morris said in a release. The project, which would require the approval of the region’s Midwest Independent System Operator, likely would be built in stages over 10 years, AEP said. The company plans to work with all stakeholders in the region, including other utilities.

A key piece of the potential transmission line is a North Dakota project dubbed Hartland Wind Farm LLC, which has agreed to collaborate with AEP. The farm, a partnership between Houston-based Montgomery Power Partners LP and Baxter, Minn.-based Denali Energy Inc., would be the western end of AEP’s project.

Denali CEO Curt Johnson told Columbus Business First the collaboration would be beneficial to both parties. AEP would have more access to renewable energy sources and Hartland would have a pipeline to an extra-high-voltage line that could spark additional growth. The wind farm, under development, has commitments for about 60,000 acres of land and expects to take up about 144,000 acres.

Connecting the farm to a fully-developed transmission line from AEP could open up the possibility of expanding acreage and boosting capacity to three or four times its projected 2,000 megawatts, Johnson said

“Our development can only be limited by our transmission capacity,” he said.AEP (NYSE:AEP) delivers electricity to 5 million customers. The utility recorded profit of $1.09 billion on revenue of $13.4 billion last year.

Progress Magazine 

Denali SD has recently relocated to the vibrant city of Aberdeen and to South Dakota’s Brown County.  Aberdeen’s growing economy and entrepreneurial spirit were key factors in Denali SD’s decision to move to this area.  Denali SD is eager to be part of the positive growth that characterizes Aberdeen’s business climate and to contribute to that success.

Denali SD is a sister company to Denali Energy, Inc. both under the umbrella of Denali Companies, Inc. headquartered in Baxter, MN.  Denali Energy, Inc. focuses on the development of renewable energy, primarily wind farms and biomass projects in North and South Dakota.

Heath Johnson, a Principal of Denali SD is a native of Aberdeen, and he and his family are delighted to have recently moved back to the city of Aberdeen.

As Denali SD looks ahead as to what is next on the horizon for their renewable energy development team, they see something solid – the wind.  Wind that can be harnessed to be a non-polluting, never-ending source of energy to meet electric power needs.

Wind turbines and wind farms are the foundation used for harnessing wind in certain pre-determined “good wind” sites.  A site must have a minimum annual average wind speed of about 11-13 mph to be considered.  Essentially, wind turbines consist of a tower with three blades and a rotor, a gearbox and a generator.  The power of the land turbines varies from several hundred kilowatts to two (or three) megawatts.  One megawatt of wind power can power 400 urban to 800 rural homes per year.  The determining factor being the diameter of the turbine and the wind’s speed through the rotor.  The longer turbines will create greater amounts of energy, as the area they sweep will be larger.  Even a modest increase in blade length not only increases energy capture but also cost-effectiveness.  Turbine blades can measure over 40 meters long and be mounted on towers 80 meters tall.  The electricity generated by a utility-scale wind turbine is normally collected and fed into utility power lines and delivered to utility customers, providing them with a cleaner energy.  Usually a wind farm consists of more than three turbines.

The benefits of wind energy are numerous.  Wind energy provides renewable, clean electricity that is both economical and environmentally friendly.  Wind plants emit no air pollutants or greenhouse gases, and do not deplete natural resources such as coal, oil, or gas.  Wind farms can be located on land that is used for grazing or farming.  Wind turbines installed in pastures have no harmful effects on people, crop production, or livestock grazing.  Wind is plentiful – it is a form of energy that is replenished daily by the sun – and won’t decrease the natural resources of the world.  Wind power is one of the sources of renewable energy with the greatest potential for the future.

In addition, landowners earn a steady, supplemental income through land leasing and wind energy royalty arrangements which, in turn, help to revitalize the economy of rural communities.  Income is generated from jobs for construction contractors and suppliers.  Also, job creation after construction is estimated to range from 1:5 to 1:10 techs/turbines. 

Wind energy systems require minimal maintenance and have low operating expenses.  The cost of wind power has decreased over the past several years; however, the technology requires a substantial initial investment for the machinery, site preparation, and installation.  To keep costs down in building a wind farm, availability and access to existing transmission lines needs to be considered.  Nevertheless, wind is one of the least expensive sources of new electricity generation because there is no fuel to purchase and operating expenses are minimal over the lifetime of the wind plant.  Another factor to consider when developing a wind farm is access to capital and to turbines.

Biomass is the second-most utilized renewable energy resource in the United States in terms of electricity generation, currently providing the amount of electricity used by 4 million average U.S. homes combined, or the entire state of Colorado.  This amount of electricity generation requires about 60 million tons of biomass per year.  Biomass is any sort of vegetation including agricultural and forest residues, and liquid transportation fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel derived primarily from agricultural crops, and industrial wastes.  Biomass power is the use of biomass feed stocks (forest residues, mill residues, agricultural residues, urban wood wastes, and dedicated energy crops) instead of the usual fossil fuels (natural gas or coal) to produce electricity.  Cellulose biomass will begin to replace corn as the primary base in ethanol industry-wide by 2012.  This timing will be dependent upon the planting of hundreds of millions of acres of dedicated energy crops.  Also by 2012, 500 to 1,000 new biofuel plants will need to be built – cellulose biomass cannot travel much further than 50 miles without energy loss.  In the future, fast-growing energy crops may become the biomass fuel of choice.  The U.S. Department of Energy is working with national labs, agricultural and forestry groups, power companies, and other governmental agencies to make energy crops a viable fuel source in the near future. 

Denali Energy, Inc. is currently in the process of developing the Hartland Wind Farm, in North Dakota, along with Montgomery Energy Partner LP, Houston, Texas.  The proposed project would be constructed on up to 850 square miles of leased private property throughout Ward, Burke, and Mountrail counties about 25 miles northwest of Minot, ND.  The project will consist of up to 1,333 wind turbine generators.  The proposed $4 billion project would provide up to 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy.  This project has the potential to be one of the largest wind farm developments in the United States.

Denali SD is currently working on the development of their first South Dakota wind farm project.  The Campbell County Wind Farm will consist of up to 300 turbines and 450 megawatts at an investment of nearly $900 million.  The firm is also conducting feasibility studies for potential bio-diesel and municipal waste biomass projects in the Aberdeen area.

By DALE WETZEL  Associated Press Writer

A proposed 2,000-megawatt wind farm in northwestern North Dakota would be one of the world's largest energy projects, although new electric transmission lines are needed for it to be built, state regulators say."The numbers that you see being thrown around as potential development in North Dakota are truly eye-popping," Public Service Commissioner Tony Clark said Wednesday.Hartland Wind Farm LLC is planning the $4 billion project in Ward, Burke and Mountrail counties in northwestern North Dakota. The company wants to start construction in the fall of 2010.It will be built in stages and ultimately should have 1,333 wind towers spread over 720 square miles, said Craig Fink, one of the project's developers. The Public Service Commission accepted a letter of intent for the project Wednesday.Its territory is bordered by Canada to the north, the Des Lacs River to the east, U.S. Highway 2 to the south and the western border of Burke and Mountrail counties, Public Service Commission filings say.The commission's president, Susan Wefald, said both the Hartland project and a separate, 1,000-megawatt wind farm planned for Oliver and Morton counties will require building new electric transmission lines to carry the power."Planning and construction of a major transmission line can take a number of years," Wefald said.FPL Energy LLC, of Juno Beach, Fla., is developing the 1,000-megawatt farm, which will cost about $2 billion to build.Fink said Hartland expects to file its formal application for a siting permit for its wind farm in June 2009. The company would like to have the permit in hand by April 2010, and start putting up wind towers in the fall, he said.Separately, the Public Service Commission voted to allow Sequoia Energy U.S., a unit of the Sequoia Energy Inc. of Winnipeg, Manitoba, to immediately file a request for a siting permit for a 150-megawatt wind farm in Rolette and Towner counties.The Border Winds project includes 68 turbines and will cost about $300 million to build, a company filing said. Sequoia wants to begin construction in the fall of 2009.At present, the nation's largest operating wind farm is a 736-megawatt project near Abilene, Texas, called the Horse Hollow Energy Center. Projects of 1,000 megawatts or more are on the drawing boards, said Christine Real de Azua, a spokeswoman for the American Wind Energy Association in Washington, D.C.Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, who has gained public attention for his plan to displace imported oil with wind energy and natural gas, is planning a 4,000-megawatt wind farm in four counties in the Texas Panhandle.Royal Dutch Shell PLC and TXU Corp., a Texas energy company, are separately developing a 3,000-megawatt project southeast of Amarillo, Texas."With anything that size, they are dependent on more transmission," Real de Azua said. "They're looking big, they're ambitious, and these projects are feasible, but the missing component is the need for new transmission to bring that wind power to market."

A second element of the Hartland Wind Farm is housing for employees, which is in short supply in Kenmare and the surrounding communities.

Russ Gilson, a principal with Denali Development of Baxter, Minnesota, is already working on that problem. He learned from officials at Hess Corporation about their housing problems for oilfield workers. "I can’t see having somebody sleeping in a tent trailer in the middle of the winter," he said. "We’re looking at Stanley, Tioga, Kenmare and Minot. We need to get a critical mass going. We want to get the cities involved and employers involved."

Gilson, whose background is in architecture and development, has been asking, "What do you need?" wherever he’s gone. Right now, apartments and communal facilities, with separate bedrooms and shared kitchen and living areas, are under consideration, as well as storage buildings.

He anticipated Phase 1 of the Hartland Wind Farm project requiring the services of 50 high-end technicians. "That’s roughly one person for each ten turbines," he said. "So with families, we’re looking at a minimum of 150 people. That’s why we want to house them, to get them here."

Like his colleagues, Gilson praised the quality of life he’s discovered in northwestern North Dakota, and he believes the workforce needed for the wind project will come to appreciate those same qualities. "I don’t think it’s going to be a tough sell, once we get them here," he said. "We’re just trying to do what we can to get people here to work."

Gilson has met with interested parties in Tioga and Stanley and talked with Mayor Curt Zimbelman in Minot, who raised the possibility of renovations in the city’s downtown area.

He had one session with Kenmare Community Development Corporation executive director Kari Bies and has a second meeting planned for mid-October. "We’ll get a business plan together," he said.

His own plans include relocating to Kenmare by November, to coincide with the opening of a Hartland Wind Farm office in the city.

Gilson was firm in his commitment to offering something better than a tent camper city for Hartland Wind Farm employees, and he wants to work with other people who have the same goal. "We’ll see what the reception is," he said, "and see who wants to come forward."

Persons interested in more information about housing development opportunities with the Hartland Wind Farm project should contact Gilson at Denali Development, 1-877-577-1031.

A thousand megawatts of electricity produced by the Hartland Wind Farm under development in northwestern North Dakota needs somewhere to go.

That’s why Curt Johnson--one of the project developers together with Denali principal Craig Fink of Denali Energy in Baxter, Minnesota, and project partner Montgomery Energy, based in Houston, Texas--spends so much time focused on the transmission component.

"This is a national issue," he said. "The grid for our country is older than most of our two-lane highways. Our grid is at capacity. The system needs to be updated."

He pointed out that talk about transmission has conveniently surfaced among the national candidates during this election year. However, Denali Energy has been among the entities discussing the problem behind the scenes for months before the issue was included in televised debates.

"There is a movement among utility companies and operators to upgrade the national system," he said. "We’re going to get that attention in the Midwest."

Wind projects typically develop faster than coal and nuclear energy projects in terms of the permitting process. "Socially, we’re probably the most acceptable," he said. "And we’re addressing transmission on a private basis."

The proposed Hartland Wind Farm would generate up to 1,000 megawatts of electricity from more than 650 wind turbines, with much of that energy destined for metropolitan marketplaces east of North Dakota. "Such a large project is a size that would warrant a transmission project," Johnson said. "The first two phases of our project will justify the transmission investment."

Estimated costs for the transmission project stand at $1.3 billion under Denali Energy’s current plans.

North Dakota is considered a favorable business environment for renewable energy projects, and Johnson believes construction of a transmission line in this region would hold its value for generations.

"This is potentially a 200-year asset," he said. "Once the infrastructure is in place, with the turbines, the substations and the peaking facilities, that allows for the improvements of technology in the future."

He explained that wind could generate electricity over the transmission line for decades, but the line would be in place to also accept power generated by other sources, such as solar and technologies not yet perfected or even designed.

"We recognize the favorable attitude in North Dakota," Johnson said, adding that Hartland Wind Farm and the related transmission project could help the state achieve its goal of becoming the top wind energy export state in the nation.

Progress on the Hartland Wind Farm project, which proposes up to 1,000 megawatts of energy produced by wind turbines constructed in two phases along the Missouri Coteau between Berthold and Columbus, has revised a few attitudes about North Dakota’s legendary, incessant wind.

"For so many years, we’ve said it’d be really nice if the wind weren’t blowing," said Berthold resident Susan Haaland, "but this will change that!"

Susan and her husband Roger were among the nearly 70 landowners who have already signed on with Denali Energy of Baxter, Minnesota, the company developing the wind farm. On Saturday, several of those landowners attended an appreciation picnic held in Berthold to celebrate the project’s first milestone of easement agreements covering 46,000 acres of prime ground for wind energy development.

Curt Johnson, a principal with Denali Energy, has his own ties to the area through his mother Carolyn and late father Curt Sr. and uncle Glen Johnson, who collectively own over 800 acres, collectively, near the old townsite of Hartland. Curt addressed Saturday’s gathering with enthusiasm and gratitude for the landowners’ assistance in meeting the first threshold.

"We got started in January on the ground out here, doing a site assessment," he said, adding that by April, monitoring towers were erected on land owned by Glen Johnson and by Howard Gustavson. "The data that we’re getting is exactly what we anticipated, and the wind strength and potential is greater than anticipated."

Along with promising data, however, came the warm response from landowners when Denali Energy started holding meetings in June in the Berthold, Donnybrook and Carpio areas. "At those first meetings, we had a couple of people each time," Johnson said. "By mid-June, we had 50 to 60 people. We were overwhelmed and pleased to get the response we were getting."

While the landowners learned about the potential benefits of signing option easement/agreements with Denali Energy for their property at those meetings, the project leaders experienced the hospitality of the northern plains and, somewhat unexpectedly, became friends with their clients.

Jon Dostal, one of three project managers who met with landowners, talked about how the project changed his perspective. "When we first started coming out here, it was about

the project and moving forward with the process," he said, "but it’s become more than that for us." He mentioned the influence of Bill Feickert, one of the first landowners to attend the first meeting, who welcomed Dostal to Berthold as a friend and set the tone for their future work together.

Johnson maintained that a key element in the project was the relationship of trust established between Denali Energy and the landowners. "We recognize the commitment you’ve made to us," he said, "and that commitment is as strong as we can make it back to you."

Further evidence of the commitment will be seen as Denali Energy opens an office in Kenmare in November and operates a development division to organize workforce housing in Kenmare, Stanley and Tioga. "It’s a service we can bring to the area, in addition to the wind farm," said Johnson.

Another step forward involves the engineering work behind the project being performed by Kadrmas Lee & Jackson of Bismarck in conjunction with Westwood Engineering of Minneapolis, each with extensive wind farm development expertise. The two firms are addressing the project collectively with the oversight and experience of Michels Wind Energy, a subsidiary of Michels Corporation based in Brownsville, Wisconsin, and an international engineering and construction contractor distinguished as one of the top ten utility contractors in the country. Mark Hutter, a manager with Michels Wind Energy who first visited the proposed site for the Hartland Wind Farm in August, talked about Michels with the audience in Berthold.

He believed the company’s employees would relate to the concerns of landowners involved with the Hartland Wind Farm because Michels remains a family-owned business headquartered in a town of 342 people. "Our employees either work on farms or their families have," he said. "They understand the importance of laying cable and restoring the site quickly, so the landowner can get back to work."

First option payments made

While landowners mingled with the Denali Energy staff and picked up their first option payments, they talked about the benefits of participating in the project.

"They seem to have it together as far as their plan," said Susan Halden, Stanley.

She and her husband Doug farm outside of Berthold. "We can see the town of Hartland from our farm. My husband went to grade school in Hartland!" she said about their initial interest in the project. "This is a very cohesive group and they take time to visit and answer your questions."

Gary Knudtson, who farms southwest of Donnybrook, has been familiar with wind energy since his father attached a 6-volt windcharger to his home in the early 1940s. "It was the first wind tower out here," said Knudtson. "It would rumble away on the top of

the house and charge batteries. We had three or four dim lights in the house. Later, he put up a 32-volt system."

Knudtson still has the old 6-volt charger stashed at home, and Johnson is trying to work out an agreement to display the unit. "I guess that would be a good use for it," said Knudtson. "My dad would be proud."

Along with neighbors Roger Johnson and Darrell Workman, Knudtson has been considering his options with Hartland Wind Farm. "There’s no guarantee you’re going to get a tower," he said, "but when you get up on the hill, there’s all kinds of wind."

Landowner Joyce (Haaland) Giles lives in Williston, and the letter she received from Denali Energy last May raised her curiosity. "I think it’s great," said Joyce. "I was skeptical at first, but my brothers attended a meeting, then we came over and attended a meeting. My nephew (who farms the property) told me it was a no-brainer."

"This was an easy decision," said her husband Virgil. "It’s wind, it’s non-polluting. [Denali Energy] is straight. I have yet to hear one thing that hasn’t happened. That makes you feel kind of comfortable."

He was especially pleased with the consideration Denali Energy showed toward farmers. "They understand farmers want to go in straight lines," he said. "They’ve looked at plot maps, looked at the roads and what they have to build for roads, and they’ll site stuff so there’s limited maneuvering [for the farmer]."

For Susan Haaland, the opportunity made good sense. "It seems like a nice use of the land and it’s not overly invasive," she said. "And it’s nice to be in on something that’s renewable and clean. Just to picture all of [the turbines], the logistics seem incredible!"

Agnes (Burke) Larcombe, Minot, still owns a few acres once homesteaded by her father south of Hartland. She said she heard about the proposed wind farm last winter and was surprised at the news. She was even more shocked when she received a letter from Denali Energy. "I thought, ‘What? There’s going to be life out there?’" she said.

Carl Bye of Bismarck was impressed by Denali Energy’s approach toward landowners. "The fact that they’re not here soliciting says something," he said. "It seems like it’s a lot of fun for everybody, and there’s a need for energy right now."

His wife, Wanda, is the daughter of Harold and Emily Haaland, and the family farm sits between Berthold and Carpio. "I wish my parents were here," she said. "It’s amazing to think of what can happen. This is a direction you want to go, I think."

Making it happen

Craig Swenson, another principal with Denali Energy, explained the group started meeting with landowners at the southern end of the project in order to get the project organized. "We just had to pick some place," he said.

The group has been contacting other property owners farther north and west in the proposed project area and has held initial meetings with some Kenmare-area landowners.

Swenson, who grew up with experience on farms in Minnesota and is excited about working in a rural economy again, became interested in the prospect of a wind project after attending a renewable energy conference held in Bismarck last fall. "We were blown away," he said. "We thought, how could we bring our talents into this industry and make this thing happen?"

He and his colleagues shared their enthusiasm and materials from the conference with Curt Johnson back in Denali’s offices. According to Swenson, when Johnson saw the color-coded wind potential map for North Dakota, with its purple streak representing the highest wind speeds across the Missouri Coteau, he said, "That’s where I’m from!" The project was set in motion with a phone call to his uncle Glen.

Swenson focused on the importance of the trust issue with the landowners. "When I graduated, my grandmother shook her finger at me and told me to do business right and to do business honestly," he said. "We’re coming in and partnering with the landowners because without them, we couldn’t do it. We are so excited with where we’re at this point because the cooperation is just incredible!"

Milestone reached

Saturday marked a significant point in the Hartland Wind Farm project for Johnson, and he’s looking forward to the next steps. "We’re still in the process," he said. "46,000 acres is a milestone, certainly not an end. We want to continue to solidify our site area."

Johnson also spoke on behalf of project partner Montgomery Energy, based in Houston, Texas. Frank Giacalone of Montgomery had planned to attend the event, but was unable to come because of the impact of Hurricane Ike. However, Giacalone expressed sincere appreciation for the level of commitment shown by local landowners and confirmed that he and other representatives of Montgomery intend to visit the site in North Dakota yet this fall.

Nearly 70 landowners have signed on for the project to date, with about 100 owners contacted and more than 500 total visits made. Johnson has been grateful to hear from only a handful of individuals with major concerns about the project. "We’ve had confidence we’d get to this day based on the attitude of the landowners," he said.

Landowners committed to the project have signed options for easements describing specific acreages for 40-year terms, with $15 paid per acre annually for land without a turbine located on it.

After the planning phases are completed and all the necessary permits and approvals are obtained, landowners will receive a certificate of survey with a map of the proposed locations for turbines and underground cables. Owners can discuss those suggested

improvements with the project managers and come to an agreement on the plan before authorizing the improvement with their signature.

Landowners with turbines on their property that are not operational will be paid $2,000 per year until the turbine is running again. Landowners with operational turbines will be paid 2 percent of the gross operating revenue. "Because it’s not fixed, as rates to up over the 40-year term, their payments will increase," Johnson said.

He repeated the company’s commitment to leaving a minimal footprint on the land itself. "Each landowner will have their own plan for their own parcel," he said, adding that decisions would be made by consulting the landowners as well as the producers actually farming the ground. "We’re sensitive to any impact. Our number one priority for this property is agricultural production. The project will be a collection of all these pieces put together."

Phase 1 cost $1.15 billion,

transmission $1.3 billion

As the project managers continue to contact more landowners, work has started on the pre-development engineering stages, including wetland delineation, environmental and avian studies, and GIS studies to determine the topography and characteristics of the landscape.

Construction of the turbines could begin within 18 months.

Finances for the project remain secure, according to Johnson, despite recent downward activity in the markets. "We’re in a strong position with our equity interests," he said. Cost estimates for Phase I of the project, with over 300 turbines generating up to 500 megawatts of electricity, stand at approximately $1.5 billion, while costs for a proposed transmission line (see accompanying story) are estimated at $1.3 billion. A second phase would produce another 500 megawatts of power.

Discussions with the landowners have added another dimension to the project, in the form of consumer turbines. "Some of the landowners were asking if they can access some of the power produced," Johnson explained, adding that several requests related to pumping water for livestock or drying grain.

Tapping energy from the Hartland Wind Farm towers is not possible, but smaller, stand-alone consumer turbines would allow landowners, businesses or individuals to generate electricity for their own use and sell excess electricity back into the grid. Leo Christiansen of Bowbells erected a similar wind tower last summer and sells power to Burke-Divide Electric while also providing the electricity he needs on his farm. "We’re pursuing this based on the demand from the landowners," Johnson said.

Other future plans include constructing a facility at the project’s namesake, the old townsite of Hartland. "We want to put that back on the map," Johnson said. "We would offload material there, and hope to someday build a visitors center." A visitors center

would include Gary Knudtson’s vintage windcharger, featured front and center among the exhibits.

Hartland Wind Farm remains a work-in-progress, and Swenson invited interested landowners to contact Denali Energy to learn more about the project. "Come in," he said. "Find out what it’s about."

A website for the project is still in development, but Johnson or Swenson can be reached at the Denali Energy offices by calling, toll-free, 1-877-557-1031.