County welcomes first wind farm

TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - Tippecanoe County welcomed its first wind farm Tuesday afternoon.

An Indianapolis wind turbine company called Performance Services held a press conference about the 50 megawatt wind farm named Performance Park. It will be located in northern Tippecanoe County.

It will be over 2,400 acres and have 25 turbines.

Public schools and universities will benefit from the turbines. Performance Services said schools will buy a turbine and then will profit from selling the energy the turbine generates. Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Warren County is looking into Performance Park.

Superintendent Ralph Schrader said it will cost about three million dollars for the turbine, but the district will see much more money coming in as profit. He said over 25 years, it could see a profit between five to six million dollars.

"You are going to see receipts into rainy day fund, predominately. That allows you to use it in any capacity you see fit. It is one of the most volatile times in school history with the current state funding. So the revenue is a big interest to us. Power purchase agreement is vital. If an energy company can guarantee a return rate, so we can guarantee a positive revenue for 25 years this project is very appealing," Schrader said.

Schrader said it is waiting on the Performance Services to secure a power purchase agreement with energy companies before it decides to definite be a part of the park.