Turning annoying wind into renewable energy near Hawkeye

A Terex crane with a lifting capacity of 660 U.S. tons, and using 11-ton counterweights raises the lower mid-section to place on the base, Wed., Aug. 15 near Bahr Park. 

By Janell Bradley

HAWKEYE – Folks in Bethel township, Fayette County, have long been challenged by wind that blows snow into drifts that close gravel roads and whips the laundry from the clothes line on summer days. Here, the wind is almost always blowing across the prairie.

But now, harnessing the wind will boost the local economy in this town of 451 as the $45 million Hawkeye Wind Farm goes online in October.

The project began in 2008 when a test tower began recording meteorologic statuses. Determining the atmosphere was adequate, RPM Access LLC, West Des Moines, started negotiations with landowners to lease property. 

Construction on the Hawkeye Wind Farm began last November. Six turbines were up as of Aug. 15, with the remaining nine in various stages of progress – but all 15 and a meterorological tower should be erected within the next week.

RPM purchased the property on which its substation is located, but all other land is leased from land owners for a period of 30 years. Landowners receive various payments – $200,000 annually, as a whole. Over the life of the project, landowners receive $7 million, says Kevin Lehs, project and construction manager for RPM.

The West Des Moines company has a 20-year contract with Central Iowa Power Cooperative, to buy the wind power. RPM estimates the Hawkeye project should generate enough electricity to power 4,000 to 6,000 homes each year.

While the wind farm was developed, the community benefitted from 200 temporary construction jobs as workers dined in the local cafes, stayed in area motels and shopped in local businesses. Two to three permanent maintenance and operations jobs result once the project is complete in a few weeks.

Diane Ungerer, owner of Diane's Cafe in Hawkeye, said her family will miss the workers when the project is complete.

"They stop in here at all times of the day. Sometimes it's for breakfast, or they take out sandwiches or baked goods," she said. "Other times they call ahead to have us prepare something for them."

Because it's a tradition in Diane's Cafe for those celebrating an event to treat, she said some of the wind farm construction workers have also treated the locals – one requested a peach upside down cake to share.

"You can't ask for more polite people," she said.

This is a view of the inside of one of five sections that make up each turbine tower. Notice the light bar at bottom left, the ladder, and then at right, cables that carry power from the generator. Each section also has a platform from which workers can stand to tighten the bolts from the inside on the upper sections as it's built.

For most of the year, RPM rented two apartments above the Hurd Museum in Hawkeye, to use as an office and for sleeping quarters for RPM employees traveling from afar.

Kevin Lehs (seated) and Kirk Kraft, production managers for RPM Access of West Des Moines, are pictured working from the Hawkeye Wind Farm temporary office in the upper level of the Hurd Museum in Hawkeye.

The company leased four acres of the town's industrial park on which to locate trailers used as temporary offices by the contractors from out-of-state. RPM purchased one acre at the site, on which it will build a permanent maintenance/operations center – constructed by a local builder.

Hawkeye Economic Development Corporation president Leon Dietzenbach said RPM's purchase of property in the industrial park allowed HEDCORP to finance extending utilities to the property – something the site lacked for the 25 years since it was established as an industrial park.

The wind farm, said Dietzenbach, "has put Hawkeye on the map." 

Now that utilities are extended, it makes the property more marketable to potential new business or possibly even additional housing on the property, he says.

"Our emphasis as an owner of this wind project is to get as many local people involved as we can," said Lehs. "When we walk away, we want everyone happy. By the end of the project, it's like one, big, family."

RPM paid the Fayette Firecracker 4-H club to cater a picnic supper for the landowners. The same youth served a safety recognition breakfast for 80 employees of M.A. Mortenson, of Minneapolis, the company constructing the turbines.

Additionally, Hawkeye Wind Farm pays taxes on the real property, valued at about $1 million per turbine. Fayette County will receive an estimated $1.8 million for the first seven years of operation, and $10.5 million over the next 18 years.

Just 15 acres of cropland was taken out of production as a result of the project. Nearly 12 miles of underground cable was laid to connect the fiber optics to the substation, located across from St. John's Lutheran Church-Richfield, six miles west of Hawkeye. While a picnic was hosted Thurs., Aug. 9 for the 43 landowners holding contracts, rain delayed a planned 'blade signing' event. Landowners will still get an opportunity to put their names on a blade that will turn 490 feet above ground while generating wind power.

RPM is also constructing a 41 megawatt Elk Wind project in Delaware County and a 50 MW project near Rippey. In 12 years, wind farms developed by RPM in Iowa, now generate 700 megawatts.

The company expects to energize the Hawkeye Wind Farm turbines by the end of this month. Commercial operation is set for Oct. 1. A ribbon-cutting event with local legislators is planned.