For Immediate Release
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Contact:
Geri Salmela
WCTA
218-837-5151
Sebek — Christmas came early for West Central Telephone Association (WCTA) when it learned it was one of twenty-two organizations selected, out of nearly 100 applicants, to perform research as part of the Xcel Energy Renewable Development Fund. The rural telephone cooperative will be testing five solar/wind hybrid renewable energy systems with the goal of creating a simple, economic energy source for its remote switching nodes. The grant will provide $130,000 to cover the cost of the equipment, and $7,000 for consultants.
WCTA began exploring renewable energy in March of 2006 as part of its long-range planning initiative. “The cost of power is going up, natural resources are dwindling, and we felt it was our responsibility to explore alternatives as we forged our long-range plans for the future” said Tony Mayer, General Manager for WCTA. “Unfortunately, as we researched the technologies available today we realized the renewable energy industry, particularly wind, is still coming of age—there are no standards or assurances to guarantee the products will work the way the manufacturer says. We’ve done some preliminary testing, but this grant will enable us to take our research to the next level to design a solution that will reliably work for our specific power needs.”
The solar/wind hybrid systems will be installed near switching nodes at five remote locations. “These nodes currently run on grid power, and have back-up batteries in case of a power outage.” explained Sheldon Sagedahl, WCTA Operations Manager. “However, we’ve seen storms take down power for over 2 weeks in some areas, such as Iowa last winter and Oklahoma this winter. In those cases, companies can be required to send their technicians out in treacherous weather 24/7, as well as bring in outside help, to go from node to node with portable generators. Such an outage is extremely expensive, not to mention dangerous. We see wind and solar power as a reliable, but also a green and environmentally friendly solution to this problem.”
Pam Mahling, Corporate Resource Specialist, who has been primarily responsible for the preliminary research, said the company has come a long way in its research already. “If you do a Google search on “wind turbine” you’ll get millions of sites to choose from. It can be overwhelming knowing where to even start. We’ve received quite a bit of training and information already, and have worked closely with our engineers and industry specialists to narrow our choices for our specific needs. The wind systems we’re looking at, called micro-turbines are quite small and relatively inexpensive compared to the big wind turbines making the news these days.”
WCTA plans to combine the wind generators with 2-3 solar panels at each site to ensure they can generate power under a variety of weather conditions. “Much of the research we’ll be doing involves testing different system configurations to find the ‘sweet spot’ of power production for our nodes,” Mayer stated. “We’re pleased that Xcel Energy sees the value in our efforts and has chosen to support our project.”
The Renewable Development Fund, created in 1999, is funded solely by Xcel Energy customers. Each year the company transfers $16 million to the fund in accordance with state statutes. The fund provides research support for marketable advancement of innovative uses of renewable energy and environmental technologies that will benefit Minnesota customers and promote renewable energy within the region, nationally and worldwide.
In addition to the Xcel Energy grant, WCTA has also been approved for a $10,140 MN Solar Rebate and a $4,000 Minnesota Power grant for installing solar panels at the WCTA Headquarters in Sebeka, and is exploring additional funding as well. “Although the systems do eventually pay for themselves––even sooner if the cost of electricity goes up as expected—the funding helps to make these projects more feasible,” Mahling remarked.
The Xcel awards are not final until approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, and so far, the commission has approved all proposed projects.
West Central Telephone Association is a full service telecommunications company providing local and long distance services, advanced telephone, broadband Internet services, IPTV, business phone systems, complete telecommunications wiring services and much more.
