LAKE ANDES -- A Twin Cities engineering firm has shown interest in a Charles Mix County wind-energy project, potentially joining work under way by a team of South Dakota State University engineering students.

The Charles Mix County commissioners have undertaken the project as a way to reduce energy costs for the county, its residents and entities.

Chairman Carrol "Red" Allen of Lake Andes said he pursued the project after attending a state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) meeting in Avon. Allen contacted PUC commissioner Steve Kolbeck, who referred Allen to the SDSU engineering department.

"These engineering students really took this by the horns. They have done a lot of work in a short period of time," Allen said. "They came up with the possibility that we need 14 (1.5-kilowatt) wind turbines in Charles Mix County. The things that impressed me -- it cost less than I thought, and the payback makes this feasible, even with just rough figures."

According to the SDSU engineers' preliminary estimates, a 14-turbine project for the California-shaped county would require total costs of $30 million. The operating cost for the 14 turbines would run about $900,000 annually.

On the other hand, the SDSU report estimates that wind energy could slash the county's electric costs by 65 percent. The current average cost of 10 cents per kilowatt-hour would drop to an estimated 3.5 cents per kilowatt-hour for wind energy.

News of the project has spread beyond Charles Mix County, Allen said.

"They are gaining attention around the state and other parts of the nation," he said.

The project caught the eye of Richard Wiebe, an engineer with the Westwood Professional Services firm of Eden Prairie, Minn.

Wiebe met last month with Allen and Charles Mix County auditor Angie Meyerink to discuss his firm's services.

"We have worked on commercial scale wind projects for more than 10 years, creating more than 4,000 megawatts of production capacity," Wiebe said. "We have been from Maine to Washington State, and currently we are in Canada, Texas and a lot of places in between."

Wiebe also contacted SDSU team member Matt Hein, who sent an e-mail detailing the progress so far. Besides Hein, the team includes Aaron Boomsma, Josh Regnier, Matt Fodness and Kody Karschnik.

The proposed Charles Mix County project of 21 megawatts would triple early estimates of 6 to 9 megawatts, Wiebe said.

"We have not formally been engaged with Charles Mix County, but we would welcome the opportunity," he said. "Our very preliminary review of the potential in Charles Mix County looks favorable for wind development."

Westwood wants to accelerate work with projects of Charles Mix County's size, Wiebe said.

"We were approached about eight or nine months ago to provide some assistance with what is referred to as community-based wind energy development. Minnesota has specific state legislation that supports that kind of work," Wiebe said.

"At the time, we were pretty busy with larger projects, so we took the last six months to consolidate and solidify our arrangements with other parties for services we don't provide, such as financial analysis, to form a full package."

Westwood can then approach smaller-scale projects, such as Charles Mix County, with a team approach, he said.

Wiebe is no stranger to eastern South Dakota, as he has worked with James River restoration projects. He thinks that his familiarity with the region and state would provide a major head start for his firm's work on Charles Mix County wind energy.

Wiebe said he drove through Charles Mix County with another team member, and they liked what they saw.

"They have tremendous resources. Just driving through the area, we were looking at lands where the terrain was well suited for turbines," he said. "You do have to consider the roughness of the cover and the shape of the slopes and the hills, because it influences the variability of the wind."

While blessed with adequate wind, Charles Mix County face challenges with transmission and obtaining turbines, Wiebe said.

"Some of the turbine suppliers won't even consider an order of less than 10 or 20 turbines," he said. "They are looking if there is an opportunity to pool several projects together for larger turbine orders and move up the list in the supply chain."

The SDSU team provided an update Thursday to the Charles Mix County commissioners and Auditor Meyerink. Faith Spotted Eagle, who serves on the Yankton Sioux Tribe's wind-energy committee, also attended the meeting.

Commissioner Sharon Drapeau of Lake Andes said she found the SDSU members informative. "I was impressed with everything on their end (of the presentation)," she said.

As part of the SDSU study, Auditor Meyerink provided figures showing Charles Mix County spent $31,000 on electricity during the past year for the courthouse, law enforcement center, 4-H building and highway sheds.

The SDSU team has requested data from the county's two electric providers to determine electrical consumption for all of Charles Mix County. Initial estimates place the figure at $9 million during the past year, Allen said.

Charles Mix Electric, the rural-electric provider, will release data. NorthWestern Energy will not, citing proprietary concerns, but did provide a release so entities may voluntarily provide their data to the SDSU team.

In addition, the SDSU team talked with Charles Mix Electric about transmission possibilities and contacted East River Electric for more information. The team has also researched financial incentives.

The SDSU engineering students plan to attend the Dec. 20 commission meeting to provide finalized information. The second semester will be spent drawing an action plan, with a final report issued May 1.

"We are talking about holding a public meeting in January to provide more information (to county residents)," Allen said.

Wind-energy data is crucial in luring investors and public confidence in a project, Wiebe said. Federal energy policy -- including the future of the production tax credit -- also plays a major role in financing projects, he said.

"Nobody wants to leave that 1.9 cents per kilowatt hour (tax credit) on the table," he said. "That represents 30 percent of the potential revenue."

Wiebe plans to learn more during a Nov. 29-30 wind-energy conference in Sioux Falls.

"The sky's the limit on wind energy," he said. "It's going to be huge."