October 18, 2007
New Mexico
New Mexico
The city of Clovis is considering building three wind towers to help offset the cost of electricity.
The City Commission is expected to vote today on whether to direct its Water Policy Advisory Board to investigate the feasibility of placing three $1.5 million wind towers in the city.
Mayor Pro Tem and City Commissioner Randy Crowder said the city uses about 1.1 megawatts a year at a cost of about $850,000.
He said the three generators could produce more than enough to power the city.
“The beauty of it is, we will actually generate more electricity than we use, therefore we have a net profit in being able sell excess electricity back,” he said. “It gives us room for growth – as the city grows then we’ll be generating enough – and technically, we can sell (extra electricity) back.”
Crowder said the city is limited to selling the excess electricity to power companies such as Xcel Energy because it does not have a distribution network.
“Unless you build a complete distribution system to go along with it, you got nothing,” he said. “You have to deal with whoever’s got the distribution lines.”
Crowder said if the Water Board determines a wind farm is possible, there are grants available to help pay for it.
“I want to chase it far enough to see if it’s a viable income generator for the city or something that will save the taxpayers money,” he said. “If we can let the wind pay all the electricity bills, then we can use that money for something else instead of raising taxes.”
What: City Commission meeting
When: 5:15 p.m. today
Where: Clovis-Carver Public Library, North Annex
17 October 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/10/18/commission-to-vote-on-wind-energy/