Wind Energy Cooperatives- Landowner Opportunities

Wind Energy Cooperatives: Landowner Opportunities Jim Rogers Brown’s Creek Angus Ranch (307) 745-8729 Milt Geiger USDA Rural Development (307) 672-5820, ext. 4 milt.geiger@wy.usda.gov Wind Co-op Meeting March 22, 2007 The Need: Jim Rogers • Allow landowners to be “price-makers” instead of “price-takers” • Enable effective information-sharing • Locally and regionally Wind Co-op Meeting March 22, 2007 The Idea… • By working together, both locally and regionally, landowners can potentially: – Enhance financial gains from wind energy development – Retain more control over their own resource – Influence the type of development on their land – Act as a good neighbor Wind Co-op Meeting March 22, 2007 What a Wind Co-op Could Do: • – Distribute Information The how to’s of wind energy development, business plans, etc. • – Group Purchasing Anemometers, legal advice, etc. • – Joint Marketing Prevent one neighbor from being played against another • – Organization for Ownership “Piggyback” model Wind Co-op Meeting March 22, 2007 Information Sharing: • Exchange information between individuals and other co-ops – Resource assessments – Contract structures – Lease payments • Equitable information at the negotiating table with wind developers • Single, larger voice for influencing policy Wind Co-op Meeting March 22, 2007 Purchasing Co-op • Reduce the expense of resource examination – Anemometers, transmission feasibility studies, etc. • Provide access to services – Legal counsel, business services, etc. Wind Co-op Meeting March 22, 2007 Joint Marketing of Wind Resources: • Equitable price to be paid for wind development rights – Not more than wind developers can afford to pay, but a fair valuation of landowner’s wind resources • Prevents individual landowners from being “pricetakers” • Allows landowners to do some of the work of wind developers, such as aggregating land and evaluating wind resources – Landowners get compensated for this work Wind Co-op Meeting March 22, 2007 Ownership Potential • Additional income • Can be negotiated with wind developers – Piggyback model • Co-op diversifies risk and enables community involvement – Limits NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) • Structure determined by tax/grant opportunities – USDA Section 9006 Grant and Guaranteed loans – Production Tax Credit (PTC) Wind Co-op Meeting March 22, 2007 Potential Structure • What size will the co-op/association be? – Local or regional – Is there role for a statewide co-op of co-ops? • How are boundaries determined? • How much land do wind developers want? • What structure maximizes profit while minimizing effort? – Co-op, LLC, association, etc. Wind Co-op Meeting March 22, 2007 USDA Rural Development Supported “Pre-Feasibility” Study • Involvement could help answer some questions • Not a commitment to any one model or a particular co-op • Supports access to other USDA funding sources – Value-Added Producer Grant – Section 9006: Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Grant & Guaranteed Loan Program • Provides information for effectively developing local co-ops Wind Co-op Meeting March 22, 2007 Contact Information: • Jim Rogers – Brown’s Creek Angus Ranch – (307) 745-8729 • Milt Geiger – USDA Rural Development – (307) 672-5820, ext. 4 – milt.geiger@wy.usda.gov Wind Co-op Meeting March 22, 2007