Lessons from a Wind Energy Entrepreneur

Atwater banker Bob Meyerson has been interested in finding ways to enhance farm income since the 1980’s. At that time, he worked in cooperation with The Minnesota Project to explore the idea of farmers as contractors, but was unable to complete the project due to lack of funding.

Meyerson became interested in wind energy as a way to enhance farm income when the bankers committee he was serving on decided to finance a wind project in Southern Minnesota. He started attending seminars on the topic and thought, “Why don’t I try and do this?”

Meyerson, a runner, found the ideal location along his regular route, at the top of a hill where he would notice a strong wind. The spot was on a farm owned by the Eversons, longtime customers of Meyerson.

Meyerson left it up to the farmers to decide what his role would be in the project, and they ended up choosing to lease the land to him.

Meyerson went to the Twin Cities to find a lawyer who could deal with the unique issues associated with leasing land for the development of a wind turbine. He eventually hired Robert Nardi at Daniels Law Firm and was happy with this decision.

While it is generally advisable for both parties in a lease agreement to hire an attorney, the Eversons opted not to. They knew and trusted Meyerson, who developed a lease that looked out for their interests. Meyerson wanted to create a lease that could be a model for other wind developers and landowners.

As the project moved forward, the farmers were easy to work with. They were not worried about cropping or grazing around the turbine. They only wanted to be sure they could still hunt on their property, which was not a problem.

The two neighbors were also agreeable. One was an electrician who was not opposed to the idea of a wind turbine nearby, and the other was the landowner’s brother, who was also interested in wind development. During the planning and zoning process, nobody came forward in opposition to the project

To build the turbine, Meyerson contracted with Winkelman’s Environmentally Responsible Construction. He had worked with David Winkelman in the past and had confidence in him. Winkelman sited a 20kW Jacobs Turbine on the property, which could be assembled on the ground before it was raised.

Because the project was under 40 kW, Meyerson was eligible for the net metering rate from his utility. First, he had to self-certify with the Federal Energy Regulation Commission(FERC), which was an “odd process” but turned out to be relatively easy. He considered hiring a consultant but worried that it would be costprohibitive. Meyerson recommends that wind developers self-certify, though instructions for completing Form 556 were difficult to locate on the FERC website (www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/ hard-fil.asp#556).

Meyerson encountered a number of other frustrations before bringing his turbine online, such as the cost of interconnection to the grid. The Kandiyohi Power Cooperative originally quoted him the subsidized residential hook-up rate of $1,000. They later realized that his project should be classified as commercial, and would therefore cost over $3,000. Surprised by the high interconnection costs, Meyerson made a presentation to the board of the Kandiyohi Power Cooperative, asking them to support his project because they emphasize wind energy on their website. They awarded him a grant of about $730.

Other surprises included a maintenance charge of about $36 per month on Meyerson’s utility bill, a fee of $194.50 to Kandiyohi County Planning and Zoning, and a $709 permitting fee to the county. Meyerson also did not initially expect that he would need to build a $2,000 shed to store equipment for the turbine.

An additional frustration was a delay in the delivery of the turbine. It was supposed to be running in September, but was not delivered until December. The turbine eventually went online January 10th.

Now that it is up, the turbine is working well and has exceeded Meyerson’s expectations. “It’s almost always going whenever I run past,” he says.

For more information, email Bob Meyerson at cattail@willmarnet.com. Please indicate why you are emailing in the subject line.