Pulaski County (IN) School Wind Turbine is Churning; Utilizing Net Metering with NIPSCO and not Feed-in Tariff April 3, 2012
Posted by Laura Arnold in Net Metering, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), Uncategorized.Tags: Northern Indiana Public Service Company, Performance Services, PowerWind turbine, Tim Thoman, West Central School Corporation (WCSC) wind turbine project
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Dear Blog Readers:
The West Central School Corporation wind project apparently joins the North Newton School Corporation in deciding to use net metering rather than NIPSCO’s feed-in tariff (FIT).
To view the earlier blog post on the West Central School Corporation wind project. please visit http://wp.me/pMRZi-wG.
Also see the blog post on the North Newton School Corporation wind project at http://wp.me/pMRZi-BU
So what does this mean for any future wind turbine projects using the NIPSCO feed-in tariff? Let me know what you think.
Laura Ann Arnold
updated: 4/3/2012 12:28:06 PM
http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?id=53014
InsideINdianaBusiness.com Report
A 300 foot wind turbine project by the West Central School Corp. is delivering electricity. The school system says the turbine, built by Indianapolis-based Performance Services, is designed to eventually pay for itself, and any additional electricity will go to Northern Indiana Public Service Co.
April 3, 2012
News Release
Francesville, Indiana. West Central School Corporation (WCSC) wind turbine project is now complete and began producing electricity on Friday, March 30, 2012.
WCSC is one of the first public school corporations in Indiana to utilize net metering with Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO). The project includes one 321-foot high, 900 kW, three-blade PowerWind turbine on school property, with Performance Services serving as the design builder. The project is designed to pay for itself and at the same time significantly reduce the cost of energy at the schools, offsetting nearly 100% of the electrical bill at the campus. In doing so, the school corporation hopes to be able to maintain the existing tax rate. Over the 25-year life of the project, net revenue is expected to exceed $4 million after all project related costs.
An essential component of the wind project is a renewable energy curriculum. Lessons plans, a K-12 curriculum map, and unique learning opportunities will be made available for K-12 students. This project will become a real-world lab in which WCSC students will have the opportunity to learn and explore renewable energy first hand.
Tim Thoman, President of Performance Services noted, “We are excited to bring another PowerWind turbine online for an Indiana public school. West Central has shown great leadership in their vision to reduce operational costs for their corporation over the next 25 years. Superintendent Chuck Mellon has been patient awaiting final interconnection approval from NIPSCO. Performance Services is grateful to have had the opportunity to work with West Central School Corporation on this important community wind project. “
For more information about West Central School Corporation, visit
Performance Services is an Indianapolis-based design-build engineering company that specializes in constructing and renovating schools, universities and healthcare facilities to deliver optimal environments through both the Guaranteed Energy Savings Contract and Design-Build procurement methods. Innovative wind power and geothermal systems are integral to the energy services portfolio. The company has provided energy services to customers since 1998 and is the leading qualified provider of guaranteed energy savings projects and ENERGY STAR labeled schools in Indiana. To learn more, visit
http://www.performanceservices.com.
PowerWind GmbH is a German OEM of onshore wind turbines (500 kW, 850 kW, 900 kW and 2500 kW) and service provider, focusing on Community-scale wind projects. These wind farms of between 1 MW and 30 MW are mostly locally owned; the energy is often consumed in the immediate vicinity of the turbines. Typical customers include local businesses, factories and farmers, regional project developers and power providers, schools and universities as well as municipalities and leisure facilities. Backed by U.S. growth investor Warburg Pincus, the company has a successful four-year operative track record in eight countries.
Source: West Central School Corp.
North Newton wind tower rises above the fields for Junior/Senior High School in Indiana February 8, 2012
Posted by Laura Arnold in Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC), Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), Uncategorized.Tags: North Newton School Corporation, North Newton School Corporation Superintendent Brian Smith, North Newton wind turbine, Performance Services
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By CHERI GAYFIELD, Managing Editor nceeditor@centurylink.net
NORTH NEWTON — The North Newton wind turbine was assembled last week, changing the landscape of the junior/senior high school for years to come. The 300 foot structure was assembled over a two day period as students, staff and teachers watched whenever they got a chance. Buses were running nearby to keep them all warm while the construction and assembly workers put together the tower, which came in three parts, the hub and finally the blades.
West Central School Corporation’s Wind Project a First for NIPSCO Feed-in-Tariff Program October 3, 2011
Posted by Laura Arnold in Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), Uncategorized.Tags: NIPSCO feed-in tariffs, Performance Services, President of Performance Services, Tim Thoman, West Central School Corporation (WCSC) wind turbine project
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(Source: MARKETWIRE)
WCSC will be the first public school corporation in Indiana to utilize the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) Feed-in-Tariff program for renewable energy
generation. The project will include one 321-foot high, 900 kW, three-blade PowerWind turbine on school property, with Performance Services serving as the design builder. The project is designed to pay for itself and at the same time significantly reduce the cost of energy at the schools. In doing so, the corporation hopes to be able to maintain the existing tax rate. Over the 25-year life of the project, net revenue is expected to exceed $2.9 million after all project related costs.
“This is a great event for the West Central School Corporation and the school community. We are very excited about the opportunity to work with Performance Services and NIPSCO to make this first of its kind project become a reality,” said Charles Mellon, superintendent.
An essential component of the wind project is a renewable energy curriculum. Lessons plans, a K-12 curriculum map, and unique learning opportunities will be made available for K-12 students. This project will become a real-world lab in which WCSC students will have the opportunity to learn and explore renewable energy first hand.
Tim Thoman, President of Performance Services, noted, “We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with West Central School Corporation on this important community wind project. Utilizing a natural wind resource to support school funding is an innovative solution. This wind project will also provide a unique learning experience for West Central students with an integrated curriculum and enable them to model environmental stewardship and sustainable practices to their community.”
For more information about West Central School Corporation, visit http://www.wcsc.k12.in.us/
Performance Services is an Indianapolis-based design-build engineering company that specializes in constructing and renovating schools and renovating universities to deliver
optimal learning environments through both the Guaranteed Energy Savings Contract and Design-Build procurement methods. Innovative wind power and geothermal systems are integral to the energy services portfolio. The company has provided energy services to education for more than 13 years and currently serves K-12, higher education and ealthcare markets and is the leading qualified provider of guaranteed energy savings projects and ENERGY STAR labeled schools in Indiana. To learn more, visit http://www.performanceservices.com .
CONTACT: Arlene Gavin Performance Services, Inc. (317) 713-1750 Email Contact
SOURCE: Performance Services
Performance Services is a member of Indiana Distributed Energy Advocates.
Journal & Courier: Businesses urged to buy into Tippecanoe wind farm project June 26, 2011
Posted by Laura Arnold in Uncategorized.Tags: Performance Services, Purdue Energy Park, Scott Zigmond, Tippecanoe wind farm project
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by Max Showalter , Lafayette Journal & Courier, Thursday, June 23, 2011, www.jconline.com
The installation of wind turbines could start next April in northern Tippecanoe County as part of a project that combines electricity generation with research and tourism.
Nearly a dozen large energy users in Greater Lafayette got an update Wednesday on Purdue Energy Park, which is expected to generate 100 megawatts of power from 61 turbines placed on property owned by Purdue University and 19 adjacent landowners.
While negotiations continue with Indiana power companies to purchase the output of the turbines, plans also are being made to build a research and development and welcome and innovation center on the site.
“This is a first in the country, taking 100 megawatts of wind and combining it with a research facility,” said Scott Zigmond, vice president of sales and marketing with Performance Services, which will own and operate the facility.
“We plan on making this a destination for tourists and a place for kids to learn. This is unmatched when it comes to the research piece.”
Creating approximately 200 construction jobs and long-term employment for about eight people, the wind farm is expected to be operational by Dec. 31, 2012.
A portion of it will be on 1,600 acres that encompass Purdue’s Animal Science Research and Education Center west of county roads 600 North and 450 West.
Zigmond urged his audience to contact their energy suppliers to urge them to buy into Purdue Energy Park.
“We would like four or five (energy) companies to take 25 or 30 megawatts each,” Zigmond said. “If Indiana utility companies are not on board, we’ll go outside the state. We don’t want to do that, but we need to get this project up and going.
“We have excellent transmission capability locally. We have all our wind assessments completed. We’re ready to go. It’s just a matter of selling (electricity) to someone.”
Jody Hamilton, director of economic development with Greater Lafayette Commerce, said she and others in the organization have been working with the Carmel-based company on the alternative energy proposal.
“Performance Services came to us as a first stop,” Hamilton said. “We got the county commissioners involved and the mayors involved to make this a really great project.”
For wind research purposes, two of the 61 turbines planned for the wind farm will be larger and have the capacity to generate 2.75 megawatts.
Sound and flicker effects of wind turbines could be studied, along with learning how turbines impact agriculture.
“We believe this is a win, just because of the research,” said Gregory Napier, assistant director of real estate and physical facilities with the Purdue Research Foundation. “There are research dollars available — $20 (million) to $30 million annually to be had. Seven jobs are created for every million dollars of research, at a minimum. We believe we have a great relationship with utilities.
“The educational opportunities, the community benefits, the welcome and innovation center. It will be good for our local economy.”
Performance Services, Inc. is a member of Indiana Distributed Energy Advocates.
