Plan to build 50MW wind farm in Lafayette, Indiana

September 8, 2010

Farmers can still use their land for crops while benefiting from wind turbine income

Engineering and construction company Performance Services, Inc., has secured land lease agreements sufficient to build a 50-megawatt wind farm in Indiana.

The company has 2,500 acres of land available at Lafayette, in northwest Tippecanoe County, which it says offers a strong wind resource and good access to transmission lines.

Farmers at the site will continue to grow crops there, while generating additional income from the wind turbines.

Performance Services, Inc., which is based in Indianapolis, has already started several months of pre-planning wind and environmental studies.

The Performance Park Wind Farm, as it will be called, could be operational by December 2012, the company suggests.

When built, the wind farm would benefit the local area in lease payments for landowners and taxes to support local services, but the developers are also looking to bring in public school districts as investors to gain direct benefits.

Tim Thoman, president of Performance Services, said: “The net revenue potential is significant with $175 million dollars generated, in total, to help fund the budgets of participating schools and universities over the next 25 years. Performance Park will also provide a renewable energy learning experience for students with an integrated curriculum and enable school corporations to model environmental stewardship and sustainable practices to their communities.”

Benefits

Local officials have welcomed the economic benefits the wind farm would bring to the region, as well as the public awareness opportunity.

Mike Gibson, chairman of the Tippecanoe County Commission, said: “The news that Performance Services is coming to our community is positive, exciting and forward thinking. Announcement of a new business and new jobs is headline making. Rolled into that good news are the financial and educational opportunities available to public school systems and higher education institutions when they invest in wind energy.”

Local farm AJ Booher, one of the landowners hoping to take part in the project, said the wind farms would fit in among his corn and soybean crops.

Mr Booher said: “Producing wind energy is like adding a new crop, but with a lot less effort and a guaranteed yield. Because Performance Services will be bringing in public schools and universities as investors, these institutions stand to benefit. With the number crunching going on in today’s education budgets, I expect schools will find this venture a wise way to generate revenue. It’s also an educational opportunity for schools, a way to teach children who don’t live on farms with turbines about wind energy.”