Testimony of Tom Wind, Wind Energy Consulting, PC, Jamaica, Iowa

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MidAmerican has incurred for the wind generation that it has installed for its customers.
This low offered rate has essentially cut out any opportunity for QFs to provide power to
MidAmerican.
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Q. Do you have direct experience with a proposed QF wind project on MidAmerican’s
system?
A. Yes. One of my clients in Cherokee wanted to install a 1.5 MW wind turbine near
Cherokee. The primary goal of the project was to provide a large wind turbine that
would be available to the local community college for its wind technician training
program. The power from the turbine would be sold to MidAmerican. The standard
PURPA offer rate was about 2¢ per kWh, and the project was not economically feasible.
We met with staff at MidAmerican’s offices to see if MidAmerican had any flexibility in
what it would pay considering that the turbine would be used for wind technician
training, or whether MidAmerican could own and install a turbine at Cherokee for the
students to use for training. MidAmerican said it would consider our request and about
two weeks later MidAmerican replied that it had no flexibility, and would not offer more
than the published rate. MidAmerican also said it would not install a turbine at Cherokee
for use by the college.
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Q. Are you aware of other QF wind projects that have wanted to sell power to
MidAmerican?
A. Yes. As a wind power consultant, I have fielded dozens of inquiries from community
members about installing a large wind turbine and selling power to MidAmerican. I
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