National Wind

Steps to Building a Community Wind Farm

Q&A: Jack Levi

Jack Levi isn’t a stranger to community development projects.  He has spent the last 4 years developing community-wind based projects and the previous 15 years in investment banking. To even begin to think about building a community wind project, there are certain steps that one needs to take. Levi discusses these steps and their importance to the overall process.

Q: How do projects start for you?

Jack: Projects usually begin with an existing group coming to us and asking us to help them develop a project. Many communities find that small scale community wind projects are not economically viable. We are one of the few groups with experience developing utility –scale community projects.

Q: What’s involved in your investigation and research to determine a site’s wind potential?

Jack: If we thing a project has potential and the group wants to partner with us, we will conduct a feasibility study to determine whether a project is economically and technically possible. This is a very intense, time-consuming process.  One thing that makes National Wind unique is we have the resources to do most of the feasibility studies in-house.  We go to great lengths to ensure that we explore, identify and obtain all the necessary information needed to determine if a project is feasible. We deliver our findings to the landowners and we jointly decide if we should proceed further.

Q: Do you do a wind resource assessment?

Jack: We do conduct a wind resource assessment because it is a key component to validating a site and future success. There are three basic steps to identifying and characterizing a wind resource: prospecting, validating, and micro-siting. Prospecting  is a preliminary evaluation of the wind resource area. We study wind and topographic maps and existing wind speed data. The next step is the validation process when we gather the most valuable information.  We go out to the area and site the location for placement of wind measurement equipment. This equipment, in the form of metrological towers, is deployed on the property to collect wind speed data including the temperature, pressure and direction of the wind. Placement of the metrological tower and collection of the data is highly technical. This data determines the wind’s seasonal patterns and variations.  The final step is micro-siting, we analyze the met tower data to identify the best location for individual turbines using a combination of complex modeling tools. We have in-house resources to perform all these steps.

Q: How is it financed?

Jack: We have outstanding relationships with institutional investors to provide the financing needed to build the projects. Because of the complex tax laws, capital structures become complicated, however, we have years of investment and finance expertise to get a competitive, sound deal. 

Q: How do you sell the electricity?

Jack: We have strong, on-going relationships with the utilities in the region. We contact them and begin the process of negotiating what is called a power purchase agreement. Although this is a highly complex contract that takes months to finalize, we understand what the utilities are looking for and work hard to initiate an agreement that best reflects everybody’s interests.

Q: What about environmental and permitting considerations?

Jack: Environmental, federal, local, and state permits are carefully evaluated.  We work hard to ensure that the project proceeds in a fashion that retains the environmental integrity of the land and is acceptable to the regulators and the local community.  We have the zoning and permitting expertise to get the job done right. We take into consideration noise impacts, visual aesthetics, soil erosion and air and water quality issues, public health and safety concerns along with biological concerns for wildlife.

Q: What about transmission?

Jack: Determining a site’s ability to connect to an existing transmission line is an important contingent for every project. Although providing transmission is a complex process, we are experienced in working with utilities to ensure there is enough capacity available to develop our wind projects.

Q: Can a community serve as their own developer?

Jack: There are a few individuals that have successfully developed their own projects, but not many people have done so. Most people become overwhelmed and confused with the regulatory structures, the complications of financing, and the difficulty in negotiating with utilities. The process to complete a successful wind project is exceptionally intricate and detailed. Communities will benefit by working with an experienced developer.

Link to PDF version of the Q and A