From the Good Earth
ENERGY BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND Indiana Farmers Harvest the Power of Renewable Energy WRITTEN BY CORTTANY BROOKS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY KOLTON DALLAS
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ost farmers have a fair idea of how much they spend on heat and electricity but relatively few regularly monitor their total energy consumption. When they look a little closer, many of them start to explore investing in renewable energy. “Renewable energy” is any naturally occurring, theoretically inexhaustible source of energy that is not derived from fossil or nuclear fuel. These sources include biomass, solar, wind, geothermal, tidal and hydroelectric power. In the past five years, Indiana has made tremendous strides in the use of wind, biofuel, solar and biomass resources. Furthermore, Indiana has used its manufacturing skills to become an integral part of these energy industry supply chains. Potential savings are greatest in energy-intensive sectors such as pigs, poultry, dairy and those reliant on refrigerated storage but relatively simple measures can be applied on any farm. In fact, improving the energy efficiency of existing buildings, equipment and processes could give a quicker and longer-lasting financial return than any other investment activity, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
RENEWABLE INDIANA If the trend of renewable energy sprouting up across the nation’s farms is emblematic of the connection between earth and economy, Fortune Acres, a certified-organic farm in the Traders Point area, is a good example. Sheila Fortune, owner of the 56-acre farm, stands by their commitment “to keep the land as it is, for future generations.” In 2010, she went looking for energy alternatives, and settled on a a low-wind-speed turbine to generate electricity, a geothermal heating system for the barn and a solar fan for the greenhouse. Electricity generated from renewable sources including hydroelectric power makes up a very small share of Indiana’s total use. Wind continues to be the primary renewable resource for electric power generation in Indiana. As a whole, Indiana has moderately good potential for solar energy development, particularly in the southern part of the state, which sees on average more than four and a half hours of direct sun per day
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throughout the year. Indiana’s Solar Thermal Grant program, administered by the Office of Energy Development, has helped fund more than a dozen solar projects in the state, including a water-heating system at Bloomington’s Upland Brewery. The 600-gallon system produces enough hot water for the brewery’s normal kitchen use as well as preheating water for its brewing process, prompting the company to rebrand its signature brew as Helios Pale Ale, after the Greek word for “sun.” Other renewable energy projects in the state include a geothermal heating and cooling system at Ball State University in Muncie. The university is installing the nation’s largest ground-source geothermal heating and cooling system. The system will replace four aging coalfired boilers and provide renewable power that will heat and cool 47 university buildings. It is estimated that $2 million in operating costs will be saved each year, and that the university’s carbon footprint will be cut in half. The first half of the project was completed in March 2012, and the final half is scheduled for completion in 2015. The prospective success of renewable power on her farm has made Sheila Fortune a renewable energy advocate. “Ms. Fortune aspires to be as natural as possible,” said Max Wilkinson, farm manager at Fortune Acres. “We want to use the resources in the ground in every way we can here.”
WIND Indiana’s first utility-scale wind farm, the Benton County Wind Farm (also called Goodland I), opened in 2008, producing 130 megawatts of electricity per year. Today, Indiana boasts 1,300 megawatts of wind power, enough to provide electricity for 300,000 homes. And there’s an additional 8,000 megawatts wind power in the works. The local economy is getting a lift from wind energy as well. In 2009, the wind industry supported 3,000 to 4,000 jobs in Indiana. At least 14 facilities in the state manufacture
