Dairyland
Power Cooperative is adding a new renewable solar energy project to its
upcoming resource project list. The facility is expected to be open and
functioning by the beginning of June 2014, with construction beginning this
spring. About 520 kilowatts of energy
will be installed, producing enough power to maintain up to 60 households.
Dairyland,
working as a network of small consumer-owned facilities, already has diverse
renewable energy sources, including wind, biomass, biogas, hydro, and solar
energy resources. Dairyland’s own resources account for 12.5% of the energy its
members receive, exceeding Wisconsin’s set renewable energy requirements,
according to company estimates.
The
new Clean Energy Collective is collaborating with Dairyland Power to bring this
project to Westby, Wisconsin, next to Vernon Electric Cooperative’s center of
operations. The renewable energy generated at the facility will be developed,
run, and owned by Clean Energy Collective, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.
“Solar-powered
generation was part of our long-term resource plan, and this project is a good
fit with Dairyland’s overall strategic plan,” explained Bill Berg, president
and CEO of Dairyland.
Dairyland
continues to work on its initial commercial solar energy project, north of
Rochester, Minnesota, begun in January of this year. Minnesota Three, LLC will
own and manage the energy facility, to fulfill Dairyland’s 2012 settlement with
the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The project will furthermore
fulfill environmental mitigation standards agreed upon with the EPA.
Excess
energy output from a 368 kilowatt solar facility in Galena, Illinois is also
bought by Dairyland. Dairyland works with over 350 customer-owned solar
photovoltaic production centers in its system, from its headquarters in La Crosse, WI. Dairyland provides
electricity and energy to 25 member distribution cooperatives and 17 municipal
utilities, in four states and a total of 62 counties.
