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Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 12:21:41 -0600
To: [log in to unmask]
From: [log in to unmask] (Nancy Ewald)
March 12, 1999
To I-Renew members in Iowa and other colleagues:

YOUR HELP NEEDED--GET OUT YOUR PEN, PLEASE!
We need your help in writing letters to the editor on an important issue
affecting one of our members directly but also affecting all of us
indirectly.

Perhaps you saw the article in last Saturday's Des Moines Register, March
6, on the front page of the Metro/Iowa section. Titled, "Fight Rages Over
Farm Windmill," it told the story of how Greg Swecker is being stonewalled
by his local utility--Midland Power Cooperative--as he tries to hook up his
newly installed 65 kW wind generator. Midland wants Greg to sign a contract
requiring him to pay very high costs for "co-generation" which would
completely wipe out any savings from his wind generator. Such contracts,
with fees that are not appropriate to the scale of the proposed facility,
excessive and unneeded liability insurance, and unnecessary dual-metering
equipment, are one way some utilities try to discourage small-scale
renewables systems.

In order to prevent such tactics aimed at discouraging renewables, the
federal Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) requires a host
utility to give all of its customers "fair interconnection." Specifically,
in section 292.305 the PURPA regulations require that rates (i) "shall be
just and reasonable and in the public interest, (ii) shall not discriminate
against any qualifying facility in comparison to rates for sales to other
customers served by the electric utility." In Greg's case, Midland's
contract would charge him $86/month service charge plus $15.90/kW demand
charge (a typical residential demand is 4-8 kW/month; a farm's would be
higher). But other customers with similar load characteristics pay Midland
a service charge of only $36/month, and NO demand charge. This means Greg
could be forced to pay an additional $200 or more per month to Midland.
This is clearly discriminatory, and violates the intent of PURPA and other
laws designed to encourage renewable energy.

Ironically, Midland is a co-op, which supposedly exists for the benefit of
its members. Yet it is doing everything possible to discourage Greg's use
of his abundant, non-polluting wind power. Even if other co-op members
followed his lead and installed wind generators, it should be well within
the co-op's mission to encourage what best benefits its members (let alone
the environment).

Greg, an I-Renew member from Grand Junction, needs our help now: Please
write a letter as soon as possible to the Register, citing the March 6
article, and expressing your outrage at what Midland is doing. Letters
should be sent to: The Des Moines Register, Box 957, Des Moines, IA 50304,
or by E-mail to <[log in to unmask]>. (Please include your complete
name, address, and daytime phone number.) And while you're at it, send a
copy to Midland Power Cooperative, 1005 E. Lincolnway, Jefferson, IA 50129.

* * *PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS* * *
                AND WEBSITE!

IOWA RENEWABLE ENERGY ASSOCIATION (I-RENEW)
    "Making Renewable Energy a Reality"
                P O Box 466
       North Liberty, IA 52317-0466
             (319) 338-3200
            [log in to unmask]
              www.irenew.org

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Rex L. Bavousett
University of Iowa
University Relations - Publications
100 OPL, Iowa City, IA 52242

http://www.uiowa.edu/~urpubs/
mailto:[log in to unmask]
voice: 319 384-0053
fax: 319 384-0055

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