Ainsworth Mayor Russ Moody hopes he can make it to the dedication ceremony for the state’s largest wind farm. “I’m trying to pick corn but I will try to be there,” Moody said, noting that he and other farmers and ranchers are in the middle of harvest.

After years of planning and months of construction, the Nebraska Public Power District is doing some harvesting of its own: renewable energy from winds that sweep across the Sandhills.

Tuesday, NPPD will officially dedicate its Ainsworth Wind Energy Facility. The public is welcome to attend the event which will be from 3 to 6 p.m. at the wind farm site, about six and a half miles south of Ainsworth, just off Nebraska 7.

Gov. Dave Heineman, state Sens. Deb Fischer, Ed Schrock, Don Preister and other officials will help dedicate the 36-wind turbine complex. Bus tours and a barbecue will be part of the ceremony.

Preister, who has promoted the benefits of wind energy in Nebraska for more than 10 years, said the Ainsworth project increases wind energy generation in the state by a factor of six.

“It’s a dramatic increase,” Preister said. Other commercial wind turbines in the state are located near Springview, Kimball, Lincoln and Omaha.

Preister said generating electricity from wind will not only help the environment by reducing mercury emissions from coal-fired power  plants but it also will help landowners who will receive rent payments.

“Instead of sending money to the Wyoming coal fields, we’re giving this money to farmers in Nebraska,” he said.

In case of bad weather, the dedication ceremony will be at the Ainsworth Community Schools Learning Center, 520 E. Second St.

Installation of the wind turbines was completed Aug. 15. A month later, the utility began commercial operation.

Together, the wind turbines produce about 60 megawatts, enough to supply electricity to about 19,000 homes annually.

“It has been an exciting year for NPPD,” said utility president and CEO Bill Fehrman in a news release. “Within one year, we installed the state’s largest wind facility near a community that welcomed us with true Nebraskan hospitality.”

Ainsworth was glad to have the project and the economic benefits associated with it, Moody said. Although he can’t put a dollar value on it, the mayor said the wind farm created a small boom, filling up cafes, restaurants and motels with workers for about six months.

“They (NPPD) purchased everything they could — all locally, basically in the Ainsworth, Bassett, Valentine and O’Neill area,” Moody said.

Said Ainsworth City Administrator Kristi Thornburg: “Its just been a great asset.”

Thornburg said it was difficult to say how much money the project has brought into the community but she noted that in April sales tax receipts were $3,800 over April 2004. Sales tax receipts for other months were lower.

NPPD’s partners in the project include: Omaha Public Power District, Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, Grand Island Utilities and the Jacksonville Electric Authority, based in Florida.

The Jacksonville utility won’t receive any power but will get renewable energy credits for its participation in the $81.3 million project.

NPPD spokesperson Beth Boesch said the Columbus-based utility does not have any immediate plans to build more wind turbines, but its long-term goal is to have 5 percent of its energy generation come from renewable sources like wind.

Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.