The Nobles County Planning Commission on Wednesday night unanimously backed a conditional use permit for Missouri River Energy Services (MRES) to build four 900-megawatt turbines about half a mile south of the KWOA radio tower.

MRES marketing director Jeff Peters said the not-for-profit organization plans to erect at least two turbines on the Kenneth Fenske property in Section 19 of Worthington Township.

"It will be two for sure," Peters said Thursday from MRES headquarters in Sioux Falls, S.D. "We're looking at having another party enter into an agreement with us in the construction of this wind turbine project."

Construction will probably begin in May, with a completion date of around July 1, if the permit is approved at the next Nobles County Board of Commissioners meeting, he said.

To accommodate the project, Worthington Public Utilities will run 2½ miles of 12.47-kilovolt distribution line to carry electricity from the turbines to the city. All of the power generated by the turbines will be consumed in Worthington, Peters said.

"It basically just offsets what we schedule from our firm power supply to Worthington," he said.

About 99 percent of the MRES power supply comes from the coal-fired Laramie River Station in Wheatland, Wyo.

The Worthington project will be the first venture into wind power for MRES, which serves 56 member communities - including Worthington - in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.

"Our vision is to basically do what I coin as community-based energy," Peters said. "That is what we'd like to do is put wind turbines in communities we provide power to.

"The Worthington area was basically the first area that we deemed sufficient in order to meet our objective," he added. "... It's because of the high wind speeds and because of the Minnesota renewable energy production incentive."

The MRES-owned turbines won't save the city any money, Peters said, but putting up the distribution line prepares the city for its own wind turbine project. In January 2001, a Wind Energy Task Force recommended that two 900-kilowatt turbines be erected at the site west of Worthington.

Worthington Public Utilities has established a reserve fund for the turbines and will consider the project this fall when it begins work on the 2003 budget and the five-year plan.

"We're going to try to fit it in certainly in the next five years," utilities coordinator Scott Hain said.

The distribution line is large enough to carry power from all six turbines if they are built, Hain said.

"So we're definitely gaining some advantage by going ahead with this project," he said.

A meeting has been set for March 7 to update the Wind Energy Task Force on the project.

Peters said MRES is now negotiating to secure a manufacturer for its turbines, which will have a hub height of approximately 245 feet and a blade length of 85 feet. The turbines typically cost about $1,000 per kilowatt of production, he said, although the cost to MRES should be slightly lower due to economies of scale.

A KWOA radio official raised concerns to the Planning and Zoning Commission about the turbines possibly interfering with the tower signal. Peters said there is a "detuning" procedure that can minimize a turbines' interference with radio signals. Technological improvements, such as blades made mostly of fiberglass instead of steel, should also minimize the impact, he said.

"However, it is not conclusive whether these wind turbines would interfere with their signal or not," he said.

Peters said MRES hasn't specifically identified any of its other member communities for wind projects. In Minnesota, those cities include Adrian, Jackson, Lakefield, Luverne and Westbrook. Mountain Lake and Windom are associate members of MRES, as well.