Ironically, too much wind may have delayed when the Bluegrass Ridge wind farm will come online and deliver the energy its turbines will produce into Columbia’s power grid.
“Of all things, it’s been really windy,” said Tom Carnahan, president and founder of Wind Capital Group.
At times, it has blown too hard to install the 144½-foot blades safely. But Carnahan said he expects all 27 planned turbines will be up and running in a few weeks.
Carnahan is among the speakers today at the Advancing Renewables in the Midwest conference at MU. He plans to talk about wind power in Missouri, including the sale of some of the energy to the city of Columbia.
Under the deal, the city will purchase the electrical output of three Bluegrass Ridge turbines, toward reaching a voter-mandated goal of using renewable energy for 15 percent of city needs by 2023.
The three turbines are expected to supply about 2 percent of Columbia’s overall electricity retail sales. However, the energy output might fluctuate depending on the season and year.
A report put together by Columbia Water and Light said the city is on schedule for meeting its required goal of 5 percent by the end of 2008, with additional energy coming from the Bluegrass Ridge wind farm, Columbia Landfill Gas Plant and Jefferson City Landfill Gas Plant. The report is available at the Columbia Water and Light Web site under the 2007 renewable energy report, gocolumbiamo.com/WaterandLight/.
The Bluegrass Ridge wind farm, outside King City in northwest Missouri, would be the first of its kind in the state. Carnahan said three more are under construction and will be completed this year.
Jay Hasheider of Columbia Water and Light said, “We hope we would start receiving (the energy) by the spring.”