V SEPA GREEN POWER PARTNERSHIP9 Aligning Green Power Partners with New Renewable Energy Projects Pilot Project Summary Project Name: "Crow Creek Tribal Wind Project" Developer Name: Winterhawk Energy & Development Contact Information: Paul McMenaman, winterhaked@aol.com: Joe Dudak, idudak@atwell- group.com Renewable Energy Type: Wind Energy Total Planned Megawatt (MW) Size: 400 MW total Phase I: 227 MW Phase II: 173 MW Project Location: East of the Missouri River, on Crow Creek Tribal (CCT) Lands, in Hughes, Hyde and Buffalo Counties, South Dakota Is the project permitted?: The siting permits for the wind farm and the transmission interconnection are under CCT jurisdiction, which has been committed to by tribal leadership. NEPA permitting is not yet underway, but with the BIA as the lead federal agency, their early assessment is it will not require an EIS. If not, what is the permit status?: Upon obtaining the next $4,000,000 of mezzanine financing from parties targeted in this EPA webinar, the studies and permitting process will immediately begin. What is the status of the project's site?: The site is under full control by the developer Winterhawk through tribal agreements. Have land leases been filed with the county?: No. The leases don't need to file with any local agency, per the county clerks; as all surface land being used is owned by the tribe as trust lands held by the federal government. What is the status of interconnection, and have system impact and facility studies been completed? (Distribution or transmission level projects are both eligible): The Feasibility Study by the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) was completed in 2010. The next study, the (WAPA) System Impact Study is due to start as soon as the fee, $90,000, is obtained from the new mezzanine financial partner sought in this EPA webinar. The System Impact Study should be started in as soon as six (6) months. Does the transmission owner (TO) or independent system operator (ISO) have a process to study the project's impact on the local or regional grid and the subsequent cost to interconnect?: Yes. The WAPA is using the FERC ordered planning process despite not being FERC jurisdictional. ------- What is the status of the Environmental Impact Statement?: NEPA permitting is not yet underway, but with the BIA as the lead federal agency, their early assessment is it will not require an EIS. Is any element of the project - technology or other - experimental or pilot-phase?: Yes. This will be the largest wind energy project in South Dakota, and on any tribal lands. South Dakota's current largest wind farm is "Buffalo Ridge II" wind farm at 210 MW, developed by Iberdrola Renewables. What is the long- and short-term operations program of the project? Does the renewable energy technology manufacturer have a technical support team locally available?: Vestas has a training program in place to fit in the Jr. College curriculum on the Reservation to train and certify technicians to work in the field on Vestas turbines. For wind projects, has a meteorological tower been installed? If yes, when was the tower installed and how much data has been collected?: Yes, Chinook Wind analyzed wind data from three 60-meter towers and one 70-meter tower to predict wind generation from the GE 1.5sle wind turbine at a hub height of 80 meters. The data were accumulated from November 2001 through March 2009. Who has analyzed the data and what is that person's experience with respect to projects that have actually been financed?: Winterhawk hired an independent 3rd party consultant to perform the wind assessment, Chinook Wind, LLC; specifically: KirkStopenhagen, Meteorologist; Boyd Pro, Wind Energy Analyst; and, Matt Gagne, Technical Writer/GIS Analyst; checked by John Vanden Bosche, Principal. NOTE: See attached formal Chinook Wind SOQ. Can the turbine manufacturer be financed through "traditional" tax equity and debt in the U.S.?: The turbine manufacturer, Vestas, will finance the turbines itself, through its own capital structure. Provide a short summary of how you view project finance and structure/ownership: Development ownership of this project will be by the developer, Winterhawk Energy & Development and the Mezzanine Level financial investors sought through this webinar and/or other ongoing activities. A guaranteed cost/maintenance-free annual fee will be paid to the tribe for thirty (30) years. Ownership of the up and running wind farm will be determined by the owners of the development at the time of shovel ready/fully permitted site; i.e. either sold to a utility owner or kept and managed by the existing owners of the development portion. What are your ideal types of prospective institutions/partners?: Entities that feel a debt is owed to Native Americans, especially the Crow Creek tribe, and entities who feel that economic development in the US economy can be started with green power initiatives, and a US Energy Policy aimed at more energy independence. Also the ideal partner could have an appetite or relationship with an entity with an appetite for the energy off-take. Lastly, this project will produce very comfortable ROIs for all participants, enormous opportunities for participants to take part in the further wind and green energy opportunities all along the Missouri River on the remaining fifty million (50,000,000) acres of Indian Tribal Lands with "good" to "excellent" potential. This program design replicates in wind and solar what the REA did with water along the river with a wonderful financial return but this time treating all tribes fairly and equitably immediately, and with jobs and revenue streams for their benefit. What is the intended off-take for the renewable power with respect to bundled or unbundled products and is there a preference? Is this intended to ask, will Winterhawk and the Crow Creek Tribe sell firm energy, firm power and energy, or some combination of the two or any lesser degree of firmness, and will it include any ancillary services such as: frequency or voltage control, or will it be on an "as available basis"? If so, until bulk storage is available in the area, the renewable power (I believe ------- you mean renewable energy, since power refers to capacity in MWs, and energy refers to units of energy in MWhs of usage) will be "as available", at roughly a 44% net capacity factor. The preference would be to have bulk storage available, preferably the potential "Gregory County, SD Pumped Hydro Storage Project", for several reasons: 1) For RTO or balancing authority stability control; 2) For RTO or balancing authority ancillary services; 3) For regional use by wind developers and operators firming up intermittent yet high net capacity factor wind from the Dakotas; and, 4) To fill the new transmission lines going east to 100% with Dakotas-regional green power. Winterhawk and the Crow Creek Tribe also believe that the high quality wind energy from the Dakotas should carry with it, even before bulk storage is installed, some peak load serving capacity, and therefore some capacity payment other than $-zero. This will be negotiable between the developer, Winterhawk, and the eventual party/parties purchasing the off-take. ------- |