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In August 1996, the Spirit Lake Sioux Nation installed a utility-scale wind
turbine at Fort Totten, North Dakota. The turbine feeds power to the Spirit Lake Casino. The main purpose of the project was to gain experience in operating a wind turbine to evaluate the feasibility of the tribe operating a larger-scale wind farm.
Location: Fort Totten, North Dakota
Type of System: Grid-connected wind turbine
Project Dates: September 1995 - March 1997
Project Status: The formal project period is completed. The wind turbine is still operating.
Last Updated: 5 March 2001
PROJECT BACKGROUND & OVERVIEW
Tribes have discussed the potential for wind energy development on Indian
reservations in the Great Plains for the past 10-15 years. In 1995, as part of program to
encourage the use of renewable energy
on Indian reservations, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) offered grants
to fund pilot projects on various reservations. This project was selected
for funding, along with several other wind projects on other reservations in
the Great Plains.
Goals and Objectives
1) Resource assessment of the reservation wind potential
2) Environmental assessment
3) Gain performance data and hands-on experience
4) Conduct a preliminary assessment of the economic effect of the wind resource
on the reservation
5) Increase awareness and acceptance of wind energy on the reservation and
provide a working example of the technology
INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS
Participants:
U.S. Department of Energy, Spirit Lake Sioux Tribal Council, Micon Wind
Turbines, Foras Services (now known as EnXco, Foras operates wind farms in
California), Spirit Lake Casino, Little Hoop Community College, Energy and
Environmental Research Center (EERC) of the University of North Dakota.
Organizational Structure:
The Tribal Council assigned responsibility for the turbine to the Spirit
Lake Casino. The windsmiths are casino employees.
Site Identification and Resource Assessment: The
tribe erected seven meteorological towers in late 1993.
The results of the survey led to the selection of Crow Hill as the
site of the turbine.
Installation:
Micon provided construction planning and supervision
Training: Foras
trained two tribal members as windsmiths at a one-week class at the Foras
wind farm near Palm Springs, California. The training included classroom
and hands-on experience. A second week-long class was held at the Spirit Lake Casino
in Fort Totten, North Dakota. This
class, partly sponsored by the North Dakota Office of Intergovernmental
Assistance, provided training to windsmiths from several tribes throughout
the region. Part of the
training included performing semi-annual maintenance on the turbine.
During a third training class, Foras windsmiths performed annual
maintenance on the turbine assisted by tribal windsmiths.
Maintenance: The casino is responsible for maintenance.
The windsmiths are casino employees.
Technical Assistance:Foras
Services, Micon, and EERC provide technical assistance as needed.
Community Involvement: The tribe selected two members for windsmith training.
The tribe also hosted one day of a three-day wind atlas workshop that
was sponsored by the North Dakota State Energy Office, Micon, and Foras
Services.
Revenue Collection: Almost all the turbine's output goes to the Spirit Lake Casino, supplying
about one-quarter of its needs. This directly displaces energy bought from the local utility.
TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
System Description (Components/Size/Brand/Number): Micon-108
wind turbine (100-kW, 3-bladed, stall-regulated, 80-ft tower)
Technical Performance: During
the first year, the turbine's availability was somewhat erratic.
The turbine's availability during the first couple of months was
almost 100%. Then, the following shakedown problems reduced the availability of the turbines.
1) The communications hardware was not installed until 23 December 1996.
Until then, there was no notification when the turbine was down.
2) Cold soaking: In cold, windless weather, the gearbox became too stiff to
allow turbine operation when the wind speed increased. This problem was resolved
in fall 1996 with the installation of a gearbox heater and by altering the pitch of the blades.
3) In spring 1997, a turnover in the tribal windsmiths led to reduced
availability due to confusion over who was responsible for the day-to-day
operation of the turbine. As
soon as that problem was solved, flooding caused reduced business at the
casino, which in turn led to the casino temporarily laying off the turbine
maintenance crew.
Annual Production: The first year's availability was 70%,
with a first-year production of 92,000
kWh. (Expected annual
production is 150,000 - 200,000 kWh.)
Provisions for monitoring and evaluation: The turbine is monitored remotely.
ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL PROFILE
Financing Arrangements (Financing/Type/Rate of Return): DOE
and the Spirit Lake Sioux jointly funded this project. The windsmiths are casino employees.
The casino pays all maintenance costs.
DOE (DOE Grant # DE-FG48-95R810566): $191,133
Spirit Lake Sioux: $63,000
LESSONS LEARNED
According
to Jay Haley, a participant in several North Dakota wind projects, a key to
success is the presence of a "Tribal Champion" to push the project
forward. The position of this
champion within the tribal government is less important than the ability and
desire to get things done and to see the project through to the end.
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