By Keith Benman, Times of Northwest Indiana
keith.benman@nwi.com

BENTON COUNTY | The first phase of the Fowler Ridge Wind Farm has entered full commercial production, cranking out enough carbon-free electricity to power 120,000 homes, owners BP Wind Energy and Dominion announced Wednesday.

"The commercial operation of the Fowler Ridge Wind Farm marks an important step for BP in helping Indiana increase its role as a provider of energy to support growing state and national demands," said BP Wind Energy President John Graham.

The wind farm spans several miles of Benton County countryside, with 222 towering, white wind turbines located on plots of land leased from farmers. It produces 400 megawatts of electricity, which is about as much as a mid-size coal-fired power plant.

Last May, Gov. Mitch Daniels and then-BP North America President Robert Malone marked the early stage of construction of the wind farm at a picnic just outside of the Benton County seat of Fowler.

Lana Wallpe, whose family has seven wind turbines sited on their farmland, said it was a startling event when the first ones started turning.

"All of a sudden a big shadow went over me," Wallpe said. "It was like a big pterodactyl was flying over my house or something."

There are some concerns in Benton County now about the placement of the high tension power lines and towers that will carry the generated electricity away to far-off customers, Wallpe said.

But all in all, she said the wind farm has delivered on its promise.

Farmers in Benton County are receiving annual lease payments of $5,000 to $9,000 for each wind turbine sited on their land. A total of 850 workers were employed at the peak of construction, according to BP. A full-time staff of 36 is employed to monitor and maintain the wind farm.

Those are huge economic development factors for a rural county of just 8,769 people.

Dominion Energy Marketing Inc. has a long-term contract to purchase 200 megawatts from the Fowler Ridge Wind Farm, according to a joint release from BP and Dominion on Wednesday. American Electric Power (AEP) subsidiaries Indiana Michigan Power and Appalachian Power have contracts for the remaining 200 megawatts.

The wind-generated power should give utilities utilizing it a leg up if the Obama Administration succeeds in implementing a carbon cap-and-trade system to limit greenhouse gases. BP has already endorsed the passage of some type of carbon cap-and-trade process to fight climate change.

Northern Indiana Public Service Co. last year signed two long-term contracts to purchase wind-generated electricity from two out-of-state suppliers. Those are Buffalo Ridge I, in South Dakota, and Barton Windpower, in Iowa.

BP and Dominion plan to erect more wind turbines in a second phase of the Fowler Ridge Wind Farm project.