Rural Missouri - June 2013 - (Page 4)

C O M M E N T S “Devoted to the rural way of life” The wonders of wind June 2013 Volume 65 / Number 6 Five wind farms now add to Missouri electric co-op power mix W ind is playing an increasingly larger role in generating the electricity used by electric cooperative members in Missouri. Members of electric co-ops who are served by Associated Electric Cooperative are the beneficiaries of wind power generated by five wind farms in Missouri and Kansas. A sixth project located in Oklahoma is expected to add considerably to the mix soon. On Feb. 10, the five projects set a new record for aggregate wind power production. During one hour, they reached 570 megawatts of electricity. That same day, the five wind farms — Bluegrass Ridge and Lost Creek at King City, Conception in Nodaway County, Cow Branch at Rock Port and Flat Ridge near Kiowa, Kan. — produced 12 gigawatt-hours of electricity. photo by Kyle Spradley To put that in perspective, the power generated that day equals the amount Missouri Department of Natural Resources Division of Energy staff got a look at wind of energy 822 average-sized, single-fampower during a recent tour. From left are: Fred Bricker with Wind Capital Group and ily homes would use in a year. DNR employees Llona Weiss, Steve McQuitty, Andy Popp, Adam Bickford, Jay Atkins Wabash Valley Electric, which and Byron Murray. Also on the tour was Mary Ann Young and Kay Johannpeter. provides power for Citizens Electric, ated contracted for 300 megawatts from this project. also has 40 megawatts of wind power in its portfolio. When it begins operation, the next wind farm to supAssociated Electric Cooperative made commercial-scale ply electric cooperatives on the Associated system will be a wind power in Missouri a reality when it agreed to buy the more modest 150 megawatts from 94 turbines. The Osage entire output of the Bluegrass Ridge Wind Farm, which Wind Farm is expected to come online in 2014. became operational in 2007. The Conception and Cow At that point, wind will potentially provide the equivaBranch wind farms increased the total megawatts contractlent of the energy needed to power 181,000 member ed to 150 when those wind farms began commercial operahouseholds, taking into account the intermittent nature of tion in 2008. wind and the varying ways members use electricity. The Lost Creek project, which came online in 2010, Wind power — supplemented by fuel-based generation doubled that total. Continuing the trend toward larger to ensure reliability — is an important component of the projects, the Kansas-based Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm began electric cooperative generation mix. its operation at the end of 2012 with 194 turbines. Associ- Jim McCarty, editor jmccarty@ruralmissouri.coop Jason Jenkins, managing editor jjenkins@ruralmissouri.coop Heather Berry, associate editor hberry@ruralmissouri.coop Kyle Spradley, field editor kspradley@ruralmissouri.coop Megan Schibi, editorial assistant mschibi@ruralmissouri.coop Mary Davis, production manager mdavis@ruralmissouri.coop Angie Jones-Wheeler Dusty Weter Co-op page designers USPS 473-000 ISSN 0164-8578 Copyright 2013, Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. Call for reprint rights. Rural Missouri is published monthly by the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. Barry Hart, executive vice president. Individual subscription rate: $10 per year or $22 for three years, taxes and postage included. Group rate for members of participating RECs $4.20, taxes and postage included. Delivery as specified by subscriber. If not specified, delivery will be by periodical class mail at subscriber’s expense. Periodical Class postage paid at Jefferson City, MO, and additional mailing offices. Rural Missouri P.O. Box 1645 Jefferson City, MO 65102 573-659-3423 info@ruralmissouri.coop www.ruralmissouri.coop New managers at Ozark, Intercounty T wo Missouri electric cooperatives have new managers. Pat Oehlschlager takes the helm at Ozark Electric Cooperative, while Aaron Bradshaw is the new CEO of Intercounty Electric Cooperative. Oehlschlager is no stranger to Ozark Electric’s staff. He has worked at the Mount Vernon-based cooperative since 1994, most recently as its manager of member services. He also has served the cooperative as dispatcher, operations clerk and staking engineer/legislative coordinator. A graduate of Mount Vernon High School, he also is a graduate of North Central College in Naperville, Ill. His family includes his wife, Jessicca, son Payton and daughters Sidney and Emma. Oehlschlager replaces Pat Prewitt, who retired Pat Oehlschlager after a 37-year-career with electric co-ops in Ozark Electric Co-op 4 Missouri and Arkansas, including 31 years at Ozark Electric. Intercounty Electric Cooperative’s board announced the selection of Bradshaw Feb. 6. He replaces Jack Rinne, who filled in as interim general manager after Dewayne Cartright left to fill a management position at Berkeley Electric Cooperative in South Carolina. Bradshaw comes to Intercounty from Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative in DeFuniak Springs, Fla., where he was vice president of member services. He worked for the Florida co-op for 12 years. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, where he earned a bachelor of business administration degree. He and his wife, Donna, have one daughter named Harper. Missouri’s electric cooperatives wish the Aaron Bradshaw new managers all the Intercounty Electric Co-op best in their new roles. WWW.RURALMISSOURI.COOP Postmasters: Send address changes to Rural Missouri, P.O. Box 1645, Jefferson City, MO 65102. Subscribers: Report change of address to your local cooperative. Do not send change of address to Rural Missouri. Advertising standards: Advertising published in Rural Missouri is accepted on the premise that the merchandise and services offered are accurately described and sold to customers at the advertised price. Rural Missouri and Missouri’s electric cooperatives do not endorse any products or services advertised herein. Advertising that does not conform to these standards or that is deceptive or misleading is never knowingly accepted by this publication. Advertising information: mdavis@ruralmissouri.coop 573-659-3400 National Advertising Representative: National Country Market; 611 S. Congress St., Suite 504; Austin, TX 78704 573-659-3400 Member, Missouri Association of Publications and Missouri Press Association http://www.ruralmissouri.coop http://www.pinterest.com/ruralmissouri http://www.youtube.com/RuralMOmag http://www.facebook.com/RuralMissouri http://WWW.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - June 2013

Rural Missouri - June 2013
Table of Contents
Comments
Columns
Back to the land
Full steam ahead
Outdoors
Out of the Way Eats
Where shall I thee wed?
Missouri Snapshots contest
Hearth and Home
Missouri’s forgotten war
Plant during summer’s sizzle
Around Missouri
Marketplace
Neighbors
Just4Kids

Rural Missouri - June 2013