Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative has become the first electric cooperative in the nation to power  ethanol plants directly with wind power generation.  Iowa Lakes broke ground on two wind power farm projects in July 2008.  The wind turbines began generating power in late March of this year.  The project includes two seven-turbine wind farms that are strategically located to provide power to the adjoining ethanol plants.  One site is adjacent to Green Plains Renewable Energy ethanol plant near Superior, Iowa.  The other site is next to the Global Ethanol facility near Lakota.

 

By locating both of these wind farms next to existing ethanol plants the cooperative takes advantage of their existing substation infrastructure and avoids transmission line loss and other expenses.  Each of the two locations consists of seven 1.5-megawatt turbines with a total capacity for both projects of approximately 21 megawatts.  Each wind farm site serves an ethanol plant that will use about the same amount of energy that’s produced by the wind turbines annually.       

Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative has also provided assistance to the Iowa Lakes Community College   to enhance and foster the Renewable Energy Center in Estherville.