Illinois
Currents News • Legislation • Trends • Research •

Soyland Power Cooperative adds peaking capacity

Moving four combustion turbines to an obscure ten-acre site near Alsey this spring took a special trailer with 14 individually steerable axles and 112 wheels. Soyland Power Cooperative installed the 100 megawatts (mw) of combustion turbines to help meet peaking capacity this summer. If the turbines had been in place last summer they could have saved $6.5 million. But last summer's power cost set record highs. During a normal summer the new peaking turbines should still save $1.5 million.

Soyland first purchased two Westinghouse 251B simple cycle combustion turbine generators from Tucson Electric Power (TEP) in Tucson, Arizona. Two General Electric LM2500 simple cycle combustion turbine generators, each rated at 20 MW, were purchased from Odessy Equipment Company. The engines on these GE combustion turbines are aircraft derivative engines — the same as those used on the DC10 aircraft.

All four units will burn either natural gas or #1 fuel oil. A 280,000 gallon oil tank was installed on the site to permit the purchase of spot market gas. Currently, the cost of generation when using gas is under 30 per kwh, about half the cost when the units must run on oil.

Completing this project in such a short time frame proved to be a logistical challenge and required the special trailer and road permits. To reduce costs, Soyland employees provided the engineering, air permit applications work, construction supervision, land and easement negotiation, plus equipment and material for this major project.

Cooling energy from the earth

If you're in the market for a new air conditioning system, consider a geothermal heat pump that uses the earth's own constant temperature to provide cooling, heating and even hot water.

Here's how it works. The temperature remains at a constant 65 to 70 degrees five to six feet below the earth's surface. A geothermal system consists of a closed loop of pipe filled with water and an antifreeze solution, and a circulating pump that either extracts heat from the ground to warm your home, or draws hot air from the home and transfers it to the ground to keep your home cool. Because the unit doesn't try to extract heat from cold outdoor air in winter, or expel heat into already-hot air outside, it works much more efficiently than typical systems.

A geothermal heat pump:

• can save up to 50 percent on air conditioning and heating costs;

• can supply free hot water during summer months by using a builtin heat recovery system to draw heat from the home's air and use it to heat water;

• has no outdoor unit to disguise or make noise;

• requires less maintenance than typical furnaces and air conditioners;

• is environmentally safe;

• can pay back its cost in five to seven years; and

• can last at least as long as current systems. The indoor units can last up to 20 years, while the in-ground loop system can last up to 50 years! The installation cost of a geothermal heat pump is higher than that of a typical furnace, and these units may not be appropriate in some situations. But for many electricity consumers, a geothermal heat pump offers a reliable, highly efficient and environmentally sound alternative to other types of heating and cooling.

Sources: 1997 Tri-County Electric Membership Corporation, Ga.; Rocky Mountain Institute; Adams Electric Cooperative, Ill.

6 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING JUNE 1999

Annual water testing recommended for private water wells

In 1997, the Illinois Department of Public Health performed a statewide random sampling of private drinking water wells in Illinois and found that more than four out of ten wells tested had bacterial contamination. A preliminary analysis showed 44 percent of the sampled wells tested positive for coliform bacteria, which indicates contamination from soil or surface water, and 16 percent tested positive for E. coli, which indicates contamination from human or animal waste.

Well contamination could be the result of poor well construction or maintenance, location, accidents, repairs with no follow-up disinfection or combination of these factors. Hand-dug, bored or buried slab wells were found to have a far greater rate of contamination than other types of wells.

Dr. John R. Lumpkin, State Director of Public Health said, "People who get their drinking water from private wells should have the water tested at least once a year for bacterial contaminants. If contaminated you should disinfect the well and have a second sample taken. If a second sample tests positive for bacteria, the Department recommends that the well owner arrange a site visit by a local health department sanitarian to check for construction or location defects."

People served by private wells who have chronic illnesses or weakened immune systems and infants up to 6 months of age should use alternative sources of water (such as bottled or disinfected water) until their water has been tested and determined safe to drink.

Dr. Lumpkin stated that many of the older private wells may not meet current construction and location requirements and people should consider upgrading the wells if they are contaminated.

The Illinois Department of Public Health has a toll-free water well hotline, 1-800-545-2200 (TDD 1-800-547-0466, hearing impaired use only), to provide information and assistance about how to have a well sampled or disinfected. For testing, callers will be given the number of the local health department where they can obtain a state-supplied test sample kit. If you are not served by a local health department, call the Department's nearest regional office.

Department laboratories test water samples submitted to local health departments or regional offices at a cost of $15, plus any handling costs the local health department may charge. Some local health departments and private laboratories also can do water well sampling. Copies of a 10 minute videotape on how to disinfect a water well are available at public libraries and local health departments in the state.

The business angles of raising fish

Dan Selock is once more Southern Illinois University at Carbondale's resident aquaculture expert, but this time around, he is on the business end of the fish.

Selock's new job is part of a four-prong outreach program called 1-FARM-ILLINOIS (Farming Alternatives and Rural Revitalization Methods), funded by the Council on Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR) as one of five research priorities. Selock's group, headed by SIUC economic and regional development officials Raymond C. Lenzi and C. Sue Kohler, focuses on helping farmers grow new crops. The team is particularly interested in grains, grapes and fish.

The Pinckneyville prison fish processing center, slated to open next spring, makes this a great time to get into commercial fish farming, Selock said. "Right now, our Illinois producers are producing maybe 10 percent of that. We need more farmers."

Looking to boost production, Selock is drawing on his previous experience and contacts in technology transfer. As he did before, he runs workshops, sends out bulletins, visits farms, gives tours and hits the lecture circuit.

Perhaps most importantly, Selock and his group aim to help those who are ready to take the plunge. "The idea is to take technology and commercialize it."

Current and prospective fish farmers can reach Selock by writing to him at SlUC's Office of Economic and Regional Development, calling him at (618) 536-4451 or e-mailing him at dselock@siu.edu.

JUNE 1999 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 7

U.S. agriculture at crossroads

U.S. agriculture faced a serious slump in 1998, with the marketplace generating large losses for both crop and livestock producers. Both suffered the effects of a decline in agricultural exports, as U.S. agriculture caught the Asian flu. Grain prices plunged by a fifth last year, and soybean producers saw prices fall nearly as much. Most crop producers harvested large crops, owing to increased plantings, higher yields, or in some cases both. For their part, livestock producers suffered a severe setback in 1998, with cattle and hog producers racking up huge losses. The moderation in feed costs was not enough to offset plunging product prices.

Agriculture can look forward to some improvement in the marketplace in 1999, although profits in many cases may again depend on government payments. Crop producers will probably see prices remain below 1998 levels throughout most of this year. The outlook is more mixed in the livestock sector, with cattle producers likely to earn good profits, while hog producers will probably see only a moderate improvement. The key to the farm income outlook is government policy. If the government grants farmers another round of subsidies, then farm income will likely hold steady. If government subsidies retreat from the high levels handed out in 1998, however, farm income could fall sharply in 1999.

Co-ops fight for rural satellite TV viewers

National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) President and CEO Bob Phillips has called upon Congress to ensure that all Americans have access to local TV signals - even those living in low density, hard-to-serve areas. Phillips' comments came during the annual legislative conference of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) held in Washington, D.C. More than 3,000 rural utility leaders were in Washington the first week of May discussing issues of importance to rural America.

"While the recently passed H.R. 1554 calls for a study of the issue of local-into-local transmissions in rural areas, it needs to go further," Phillips said. "Rarely do we have an opportunity to help craft national telecommunications policy for rural America. We must take advantage of this window. Rural consumers deserve to be included in comprehensive telecommunications legislation that demonstrates a Congressional commitment to serve rural America," he said.

Phillips told rural utility leaders that the satellite local-into-local provisions in H.R. 1554 are a good start, but satellite providers will reach no more than the top 67 TV markets with network TV services. Low-density rural America will not receive network TV over satellite.

There is a great opportunity for satellite providers to work with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Phillips said. "The time has come to recognize our mutual obligation to provide service to consumers and stop fighting over the local TV issue," he said.

NRTC represents the advanced telecommunications and information technology interests of over 900 rural electric and rural telephone systems that provide direct broadcast satellite (DBS) equipment and DIRECTV programming. NRTC is the largest provider of satellite television to rural homes. NRTC's family of products and services includes Internet services, satellite television, power quality products and utility communications products and services.

8 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING • JUNE 1999

Bacteria could turn hog waste into useable energy

James W. Blackburn, a mechanical engineer from the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, thinks he's found a way to turn hog waste into a cheap energy source, snuff out swine stench and churn out environmentally friendly fertilizer. All he needs are a few bugs in his system.

Not just any bugs, mind you. The kind Blackburn has in mind are aerobic thermophilic bacteria-tiny guys that swing into action when air is added and the heat is cranked up.

"In cold weather, say about 13 degrees Fahrenheit, manure from a 5,000-animal finishing operation could produce the energy equivalent of about 67 gallons of fuel oil a day," said Blackburn, an associate professor at SIUC. "Producers could use it to heat the barn, dry feed or run an aquaculture tank."

This end product not only will stink less, but should be nearly free of viruses and contaminants. It also should contain much more nitrogen than other treated manures, making it a premium fertilizer. What's more, the process would improve the quality of the air in swine barns. And all this for just about the cost of building traditional waste lagoons.

"Usually, environmental projects don't pay for themselves, but in this case, capital investment is likely to be paid back in from one to three years, depending on the farm size, because of heat production and improved fertilizer value."

If the process works as it's supposed to, farmers could adapt it for use in poultry houses, feedlots-wherever large numbers of animals present waste disposal problems.

10 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING • JUNE 1999