Farmer gets grant to develop wind farm

Fri., Sept. 17, 2004

Associated Press

BURLEY, Idaho – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a southern Idaho farmer $500,000 to begin developing a wind farm.

LeRoy Jarolimek said the grant, announced this week, will finance about 20 percent of the initial phase of his project for a 10-megawatt installation on Burley Butte. A private investor in Sun Valley has agreed to put up the other $2 million for the initial 1.65-megawatt turbine and the connection to the commercial power grid.

“She’s interested in renewable energy and creating jobs in the agricultural area and sees this as a tremendous opportunity for farmers,” Jarolimek said of the investor he declined to identify.

The project is still awaiting county approval. Several of his neighbors have begun testing their property for wind power potential.

Experts have concluded that Idaho has significant wind power potential, ranking it 13th nationally.

Jarolimek erected a 20-kilowatt turbine last spring to power his home and shop. He sells the excess to Idaho Power Co. under a 1978 federal law requiring utilities to purchase power from independent alternative generators.

The law sets the price of the required 20-year-contracts to reflect the money the utility saves by not having to build its own power plant to generate the electricity. That is about 4.5 cents a kilowatt hour right now, or $220,000 a year from the power his initial wind farm turbine should generate.

Eventually, Jarolimek intends to erect six of the large turbines, which stand as high as 250 feet and cost about $1.3 million. He said that will depend on enactment of federal tax credits that would make his project more attractive to investors.

Jarolimek got involved in wind power several years ago when his son suggested using a turbine to power the farm operation and eliminate the utility bills. He now believes wind power could be a key to returning profit to agriculture.

In addition, Jarolimek said he is tinkering with a new turbine design that could power separate small generators serving individual homes.

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Farmer gets grant to develop wind farm

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