Landowners cash in on wind power

PUEBLO, Colo., July 13 (UPI) -- Farmers and ranchers, particularly in the West and Midwest, are cashing in on wind energy.

These landowners are signing lucrative deals with utilities to install wind energy, which is growing at the rate of 28 percent capacity each year, the Pueblo Chieftain reported.

In Colorado there's an estimated 6 million acres of windswept lands, particularly on the Eastern Plains, and there have already been a number of projects constructed on land leased from farmers, including the Colorado Green Wind Project in 2003.

Lease agreements vary but can usually range from $3,000 to $6,000 per turbine allowed on the land, said Jan Johnson, a spokeswoman for PPM Energy. Most projects pay landowners per kilowatt that's generated from the turbines on their land.

Johnson said PPM works with private and public landowners, and the projects provide additional revenue.

"We are kind of limited on what we can say about these arrangements -- we don't tend to discuss our private arrangements," Johnson said.

"It's a win-win for everyone involved -- now I know there are some contracts out there with higher amounts. I've heard of payments up to $5,000 per turbine per year, but a lot of that depends on the size of the turbine and the company," said John Stulp, who is involved with Prairie Wind Energy LLC. "It's a pretty good trade to get that amount of revenue," Stulp said.