While providing ecology-friendly electrical power to portions of eastern South Dakota, a wind farm that sprouted up in the Wessington Hills is about to begin providing a punch to the Jerauld County economy.

Officials around Jerauld County area expecting a windfall of sorts as they await the arrival of tax money generated by a 34-tower wind farm near Wessington Springs.

The first annual payment should arrive sometime in April, according to Jerauld County Auditor Cindy Peterson.

Not much was known about the tax that would be paid on the wind farm when the project began in 2008. But according to estimates the auditor’s office received last week from Todd Bailey, Property Tax Specialist with the SD Department of Rules and Regulations, the figures are impressive.

The largest benefactor to the wind-powered taxes in Jerauld County will be the Wessington Springs Independent School District with an estimated $84,000 this year. The County of Jerauld will receive $53,000 for this year’s payment. Media Township with $2,255 and Anina Township with $6,290 round out the list.

The payments could go up next year, Peterson said. “The 2010 payment is for just ten months in 2009,” she said, “which covers from the time the wind farm went into operation on February 26, 2009 until December 31 of 2009.”

That should be good news to all of the residents in Jerauld County as next year’s payments could be at least ten percent higher.

The wind farm also generates approximately $102,000 annually in $3,000 per tower payments to landowners that host the 34 towers.

Phase two of the Wessington Springs wind farm is being considered where many more towers could be installed in the county. Also in the works is another wind farm, a 111-tower giant between Crow Lake and White Lake that could plant 17 more towers in Jerauld County, raising the tax ante by another fifty percent.

Ownership of the Wessington Springs wind farm has shifted from Babcock and Brown, the company that built it, to Nextera. The new owners have placed four full time workers on the local wind farm.

The Wessington Springs school district has budgeted about $75,000 in tax revenue from the wind farm, Supt. of Schools Lance Witte said. “This is a nice thing for the school district at this time,” he said. “One of the things we were worried about was that the state would deduct (the wind farm tax payment) from the school’s state aid. But under current law that will not happen. This will just be additional revenue for the school district.”

Both the county and the school expect to place this year’s tax payments in their general funds.

 

 

Wind farm Windfall

 

2010 Payment

 

(for 10 months of 2009)*

 

County gov’t: $53,839.46

WS Schools: $84,100.00

Anina Twnsp: $6,290.00

Media Twnsp: $2,255.00

Landowners: $102,000

Total payments 2010:

$242,194.00*

 

Estimated 2011 payments for 2010 taxes:

 

County gov’t: $64,605.00

WS Schools: $100,920.00

Anina Twnsp: $6,910.00

Media Twnsp: $2,480.00

Landowners: $102,000.00

Total payments 2011*

$276,915.00

 

*Estimates from SD Dept. of Rules and Regulations

Despite ownership change

School still has sights on a giant wind tower

BY CRAIG WENZEL

TRUE DAKOTAN

Although ownership of the Wessington Springs wind farm has transferred from Babcock and Brown to Nextera, plans for the local school district to acquire a tower are still in the works, according to Supt. of Schools Lance Witte.

The school has continued talks with Heartland Power Consumers, the company that purchases the power from the Wessington Springs wind farm. “We are looking at different options (for getting a school-owned wind tower),” Witte said. “Rather than wait for phase two to go into the works, we are trying to do something with phase one… like adding a 35th tower.”