Company To Study Wind Power Potential
Last updated Wednesday, September 17, 2008 9:09 PM CDT in News
By Scarlet Sims
THE MORNING NEWS
BENTONVILLE -- The Benton County Planning Board granted a variance request Wednesday to allow a Kansas-based company to erect a tower to test wind temperature and velocity near Sulphur Springs. The 197-foot meteorological tower is the first step to bringing wind energy to Northwest Arkansas.
"Economically and environmentally our city and county need to embrace alternative power sources," said Amy Stone, a Sulphur Springs city employee who owns property near the site. "If it's viable, we're for it."
Several Sulphur Springs residents and officials turned out to see the Planning Board waive regulations for TradeWind Energy. The county's cell tower ordinance requires a tower be able to withstand 70 mph wind with 1/2 inch ice accumulation. The test tower can withstand up to 65 mph wind under the same conditions.
The tower met all other conditions, so planning office staff will approve the project, said Planning Director Ashley Pope. TradeWind could have a permit in hand 48 hours after filing paperwork with the Planning Office, she said.
TradeWind Development Manager Aaron Weigel said a tower will be erected in about two weeks on about 80 acres.
Sulphur Springs residents hope the tower leads to development, said Dan Tucker, a Sulphur Springs planning commissioner.
"We need business, business, business," Tucker said.
Weigel said building turbines will help the local economy in the short term through construction. Land owners who lease property to TradeWind will also benefit, but in the long term the company only needs about six to 10 people to run the wind farm, Weigel said.
No one spoke against the tower Wednesday.
Maps show different potential for wind power in Arkansas, but Northwest Arkansas shows potential for producing viable wind energy, said Jenny Ahlen, the state renewable energy programs coordinator.
"Northwest Arkansas has little pockets of really great wind," she said.
A federally verified wind resource map of wind tested at 50 meters high shows Arkansas has marginal wind resource, but Ahlen said the state has moderate wind resources in some mountain areas. An unverified map of wind tested at 100 meters, the typical height of commercial turbines, shows much better wind potential statewide, she said.
TradeWind plans its turbines to be about 400 feet tall, Weigel said.
Two other companies are seriously interested in Arkansas for wind power, and three others are considering it, Ahlen said. Companies tend to be secretive about plans, she said.
Weigel said the wind business is "cut throat," especially in Arkansas. There's money to be made but limited space, he said.
TradeWind recently finished locking in a lease for a second test tower in Benton County, Weigel said. The tower will probably go before the Planning Board in about two months, he said.
If tests from the towers are positive, TradeWind plans to put 100 turbines on about 26,000 acres in Benton County and crossing into Oklahoma. Those turbines are expected to be able to produce enough power for up to 40,000 homes, Weigel said.
TradeWind will need one year of test data to get commercial financing, Ahlen said. The state offers little incentive to companies building wind farms, but a state commission is considering recommending incentives to increase production of renewable energy, she said.
Fast Fact
The best wind resource areas in Arkansas are concentrated on the higher elevation of the Ouachita Mountains and the Boston Mountains of Northwest Arkansas.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy Web Site, Arkansas Wind Resource Map
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
