S. DAKOTA WIND EYES FREE WIRES

SD wind farms eye Big Stone transmission upgrades
Dirk Lammers, May 17, 2010 (AP via Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

"Transmission lines originally slated to carry coal-generated power from the scrapped Big Stone II plant could open up a new market for proposed eastern South Dakota wind farms.

"Big Stone II's plans had called for new and upgraded high-voltage power lines in southern Minnesota to carry power to customers to the east from both the 550-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Milbank and nearby wind farms."

Once rejected as coal transmission masquerading as wind transmission, wil Big Stone II end up as wind transmission salvaging a bad coal investment? (click to enlarge)

"The Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator has identified about 1,900 megawatts, enough to power some 500,000 homes, of potential wind projects that could jump on board an upgraded transmission system…One project accepted into the Midwest ISO study is Dakota Wind Energy, a 300-megawatt wind farm planned for…just south of the North Dakota border….

"…The [Big Stone II] project was canceled in November, with developers citing financing problems and the possibility of new federal carbon dioxide restrictions…The Midwest ISO, a regional power-grid agency, immediately stepped in to salvage the transmission line portion of the project."

Something needs to be done to keep all that orange and yellow from going to waste. (click to enlarge)

"Steve Wegman, executive director of the South Dakota Wind Energy Association, said transmission upgrades could inject new life into projects…Building wind farms without transmission lines is like building cars with no roads to drive on, he said…

"Eric Laverty, Midwest ISO's director of transmission access planning, said although only 1,900 megawatts of projects qualified for inclusion in the study, the agency estimates that a system of upgraded lines could carry as much as 2,400 megawatts of power…Wegman said the nation hasn't made any big investments in transmission since the 1970s…"