NEW ENERGY RES GOOD FOR DAKOTA

National requirements for renewable resource use could be boost for N.D.
Christopher Bjorke, June 6, 2010 (Bismarck Tribune)

"The power of [the wind in the Dakotas] wind is apparent to anyone who has experienced a spring storm here. Exporting that power to new markets could get a boost from a national standard for renewable energy use…

"The wind energy industry and renewable energy advocates are pushing for Congress to mandate a percentage of the country’s energy use to come from renewable resources.
Such a requirement would create markets for wind and other resources and could provide a push toward solving the challenge of building the transmission infrastructure to support increased electrical generation..."

Anything that puts this gigantic ND asset to work is good for the state. (click to enlarge

"The House version of energy legislation pending in Congress calls for a goal of 20 percent of electricity coming from renewable sources by 2020. The Senate version does not include such a goal, but calls for investments in renewable energy sources that would increase renewables’ share of energy use to 18 percent by 2030…

"Rob Gramlich, vice president for public policy at the American Wind Energy Association, said that a national standard would create a dependable market for wind and other renewables that would be ‘a strong and stable signal’ encouraging private investment in wind farms and manufacturing of wind components…According to AWEA, investment in wind power fell in the first quarter of 2010 due to a lack of market signals that there will be a long-term market for wind energy…"

click to enlarge

"Establishing permanent markets for renewable energy could push forward another knotty issue for wind power, the transmission infrastructure. If wind is to grow as a major energy export…it needs more capacity to transmit electricity out of state. Investment in new power lines would cost billions of dollars and involves complex questions of who pays for it. It also creates a chicken-and-egg problem for wind development. More development requires transmission investments, which in turn require more power development to justify the costs…By guaranteeing a level of demand for wind power, a renewable energy standard could push forward new transmission infrastructure…

"AWEA’s Gramlich said that while many states already have renewable energy standards, a national standard would put the United States on an even footing with other countries in attracting manufacturing jobs in renewable energy…"