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Storm Lake,
Iowa
193 MW Wind Generation Facility
Project
Information
Power
Purchasers
MidAmerican
Energy Company - Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. In March
1997 Enron Wind entered into a long-term agreement with
MidAmerican to provide 113 MW of clean, wind generated
capacity to the MidAmerican grid.
IES Utilities, a
subsidiary of Alliant Energy - Headquartered in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa. In July 1997, Enron Wind also entered into an
agreement with IES Utilities to provide IES with 80 MW of
wind generated capacity.
Project
Developer/Operator
Enron Wind
developed, constructed, and operates the Storm Lake
project.
A pioneer and leader in the wind industry
since 1980, Enron Wind is a vertically integrated company.
The company has developed and constructed over 4,500 wind
turbines, comprising more than 1,600 MW. Enron Wind in North
America and Europe, develops and manufactures
state-of-the-art wind turbine technology ranging from 600 kW
to 1.5 MW.
Project
Location
Northwestern
Iowa, in Buena Vista and Cherokee counties near the
community of Alta.
Power Purchase
Agreement
Signed: March
1997/July 1997
Term: 20 Years
Power Capacity: 193 MW
(the single largest wind power project in the world
today)
Annual Generation: approximately 650,000 megawatt
hours per year
# Wind turbines: 257
Technology
Manufacturer:
Enron Wind
Wind Turbine Type: Zond Z-750 kW
Series
Enron Wind's Z-750 kW Series wind turbines
utilize a variable speed, constant frequency configuration
providing selectable power factor, improving power quality
and increasing the aerodynamic efficiency of the turbines
while reducing mechanical loads.
At the time of the
project, the Z-750 was the largest wind turbine manufactured
in the United States. Now in the year 2000, Enron Wind's 1.5
MW wind turbine is also manufactured in the United
States.
The project’s Z-750 kW Series wind turbines hold
certification by Germanischer Lloyd to IEC Class II for a 30
year fatigue life. IEC Class II requires a wind turbine to
withstand hurricane loads of up to 131.1 mph (59.5 meters
per second) as a once in a 50 year occurrence, and 99.8 mph
(44.6 meters per second) as a yearly
occurrence.
Rated Output: 750
kW
Foundation:
Each wind turbine foundation
consists of four individually drilled caissons - 5 ft. in
diameter and 35 ft. deep.
Footprint: 40' x 40' -
spaced 1 - 2,000 feet apart
Concrete: 200 tons per
foundation (51,400 tons to complete all 257 foundations, or
3060 full concrete truckloads - enough to make a 3' x 3"
sidewalk approximately 157 miles long.)
Steel
Reinforcement: 5 tons per foundation (1,285 tons to
complete all 257 foundations)
Tower: Lattice
Configuration
Height: 208 feet (63 meters) - 12 ft. at
base tapering to 8 feet at the top.
Weight: 57 tons
(114,000 lbs.)
Blades:
Length: 79 ft. (24
meters)
Rotor Diameter: 164 ft. ft. (50 meters) –
approximately the size of the wingspan of a MD-11 jumbo
jet
Revolutions per minute: 18-34 (one revolution every
2-3 seconds)
Swept Area: 21,124 sq. feet per
turbine or approximately 5.5 million sq. feet for the two
projects combined. To capture the same area of wind, it
would take the equivalent of a sailing ship the size of the
SuperBowl stadium with a mast over half a mile
high.
Construction
Groundbreaking: October
1998
Completion: June
1999
Schedule:
September 1998 -
Grading of roads, turbine pads and foundations began.
Collection system lines were placed underground in the farm
fields and overhead on poles near roads. Substation was
constructed. Turbines and towers began arriving at the site
and erection activities began.
January 1999 -
Substation was completed and erected turbines began to be
placed on line - turbine erection activities
continued.
June 1999 - Project
completed
Environmental
Benefits:
The installation
will provide enough electricity to serve approximately
72,000 average Midwestern households, or 192,000 people. If
coal were burned to generate the same amount of electricity,
over 301,000 tons per year would be required.*
Annual
Offsets:
The 257 Enron
WInd 750 kW Series wind turbines can be expected to offset 1
billion pounds (502,000 tons) of carbon dioxide, the leading
greenhouse gas associated with global warming, based on U.S.
average fuel mix. Other emissions offsets include: 5.2
million pounds (2,600 tons) of sulfur dioxide - the major
cause of acid rain, pollution of waterways, and air-born
particulate pollution; and 3.4 million pounds (1,700 tons)
of nitrous oxide.
Jobs
Created:
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* Information
provided by the American Wind Energy Association
©1999
Enron Wind
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