Pioneer's Point of View on Member-Owned and Utility-Scale Wind Turbines

Driven by concerns about the cost of energy, the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels, the health and environmental impacts posed by emission of air pollutants and a greater awareness of the need to maintain healthy ecosystems, many individuals want to know how to reduce their reliance on traditional energy sources. While Pioneer Electric Cooperative seeks to provide its members with the most affordable and reliable electric service possible, we recognize our members may want to take advantage of other renewable generation sources.  The Cooperative’s goal is to work with those members to ensure their generation equipment is installed in a proper and safe method and in accordance with all applicable codes, standards, regulations and insurance requirements.

News reports in recent years have featured many individuals who have chosen to generate electricity on-site with small wind turbines or with solar panels. News accounts of customer-owned on-site generation systems are often accompanied with information about the reduction in utility costs that are expected to follow. Commonly, the stories do not point out that the cost-effectiveness of these systems varies substantially across the nation.  Too often, stories about renewable energy fail to include information that will help local readers and viewers determine if the costs paid to buy and install wind power or solar systems and the energy savings of the individual in the story are applicable to Ohio. Additionally, these stories fail to mention subsidy payments and tax breaks are commonly part of the financial equation.  These subsidies may or may not continue in the future complicating the decision-making process. Further, while on-site generation owners will have renewable energy credits (RECs) associated with their systems, there is not yet a defined market to gain incentives from the RECs.

Unfortunately, financial feasibility is far from consistent. Key variables affecting financial feasibility include a) the cost you pay for electricity from your utility; b) the strength of the renewable energy resource (wind or sun), and c) the availability of financial incentives to help defray the cost of renewable energy equipment. Other factors affecting the financial feasibility are unexpected equipment failure and/or annual maintenance costs.

With more powerful wind-energy patterns found several hundred feet from the ground, it is typically more cost-effective to place large wind turbines on towers several times taller than those used for consumer-scale applications, but the effectiveness of such units also varies dramatically across the nation. In addition, there is an economy of scale associated with the installation of a cluster of large machines (“wind farm”) that is not applicable to consumer-scale developments. The Cooperative’s electricity generation provider, Buckeye Power, currently includes energy from a wind farm, biodigesters, and hydro facility in its renewable resource portfolio.  In addition, Buckeye has developed on-site wind and solar demonstration projects for research.

We support the use of on-site production of wind or solar power for those Pioneer members who choose to invest in this technology provided members understand both the financial ramifications of doing so and the potential limitations on electricity production. As Pioneer is focused on delivering solutions that help our member-consumers conserve and use energy efficiently, we will also present alternatives to on-site generation that have proven effectiveness and savings potential. Included among these approaches are the installation of geothermal heating and cooling systems, improvement of the thermal envelope of a residence, and lifestyle adaptations for conservation.

Board approval: June 2010